Airbus Jet Could Be Delayed 7 Months

Airbus said Tuesday that deliveries of its new super-jumbo A380 could be delayed by as much as seven months because of production line bottlenecks, with airlines probably getting only nine planes next year.

The European manufacturer said the 555-passenger aircraft’s flight certification and initial delivery to its launch customer, Singapore Airlines, were still expected by year-end. Progress in flight testing is satisfactory, the company said.

But “the delivery schedule will undergo a shift of six to seven months,” Airbus said in a statement. It said the new delays were mainly caused by bottlenecks with the plane’s electrical systems.

“Modifications of electrical systems and reworks have been necessary, ... progressively disturbing the final assembly flow,” the manufacturer said.

“Airbus is fully aware of the burden this industrial issue represents for the airlines who are anxious to begin operating the A380.”

Noel Forgeard, chief executive of Airbus’ parent company, European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., had said this year that he expected 20 to 25 deliveries of the A380 in 2007, each with a list price of nearly $300 million.

Deliveries of the doubledecker aircraft will probably be limited to nine next year, Airbus said. It had said previously that it was confident it could deliver two aircraft before the end of 2006.

The Toulouse, France-based company has 159 orders for the A380, and delivery slots have been filled through 2011.

Airbus landed the A380 at London’s Heathrow airport last month in a test and said development costs remained within the $12.2-billion budget.

The launch of the A380 had previously been delayed by three to six months. Although most new aircraft are subject to some delay, this latest setback would be an embarrassment to Airbus -- and cost it hefty financial penalties for late deliveries.

Airbus’ chief commercial officer, John Leahy, told Dow Jones Newswires that the company would incur more late-delivery penalties but declined to provide a figure.

He said Airbus was talking to customers to explain the situation.

“Naturally, they’re not happy,” he said, “but nobody’s questioning their commitment to the aircraft. In fact, we’ve been talking to some customers about firming up their options.”

Leahy said that the production slowdown would probably cause a delivery shortfall of five to nine aircraft in 2008 from the 35 originally planned and that 2009 deliveries could be about five fewer than the 45 originally planned.

“In a modern aircraft like the A380, everything is integrated,” he said.

“Even minor changes required for certification, or to comply with customers’ specifications, can cause a lot of extra work.”