Airbus Announces New Delays to A380 Launch

Airbus said it now plans to deliver 12 planes in 2008 instead of 13, and 21 in 2009 instead of 25. The manufacturer citied the new schedule as more challenging than originally expected.

The A380 has already suffered three production delays that put the jet 18 months behind schedule and cost Airbus and parent company EADS an estimated six billion dollars

"For 2010 and beyond, the new plan, the increasing pace and deliveries are still the subject of discussions with customers in the coming weeks," according to the statement, which noted that the projection for 2010 was 45 deliveries.

"The results of this review, at this stage, do not include the financial impact," said Airbus, adding that such "impacts could only be established after holding discussions with customers and examining the new timetable for deliveries from 2010 in a more detailed manner."

Airbus, a unit of European aerospace and defense giant EADS, gave no details on the financial impact of the latest setback.

Earlier in may, Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders said the group "had absolutely underestimated the complexity of development and manufacturing of the jumbo jet, especially at Hamburg (northern Germany)."

"Approximately 2,000 German employees are working in Toulouse to make up for the problems attributed to the factory Hamburg," said Enders, adding that "this is not particularly effective and is particularly expensive for the company."

Boeing Co. has also suffered heavy setbacks in the past few months as supply-chain issues have forced it to scale down its production schedule for the 787 Dreamliner.