Emirates Slams Airbus over A380 Defects

Spiegel ^ | 03/16/2009 | Dinah Deckstein

[tlb]

Emirates has presented Airbus with a damning list of defects in the new A380 super-jumbo jet. The airline, which has ordered 58 of the aircraft, warns of a possible "loss of confidence" in the giant plane.

In a 46-slide presentation, the aviation experts painstakingly listed what they viewed as the giant jet's serious growing pains. To illustrate their points, they included snapshots of singed power cables, partially torn-off sections of paneling and defective parts of thrust nozzles in the engines as evidence of what they described as a shoddy work ethic at Airbus and its suppliers.

The confidential manufacturer's information has since been leaked to employees, triggering a mood of panic. "Many good people have resigned and are trying to move to other projects," reports a concerned insider.

Through a massive effort, the group did manage to deliver 12 of its flagship jets last year. It expects to build another 18 this year and hand them over to customers.

On one of the slides, the experts provide a detailed list of the prestigious plane's various breakdowns. They say that the A380 has already been grounded nine times, which represented a loss of close to 500 operating hours. In 23 cases, say the Emirates managers, replacement aircraft had to be obtained at short notice. Minor glitches, the critique continues, happen in Emirates' A380 fleet about once every two days. In the medium term, the Emirates experts write, the airline could face the "threat of a loss of confidence in the aircraft and the brand image of the Emirates A380."

The Airbus managers want to make sure that this doesn't happen. They have sold only about 200 of their flagship jets to date. According to industry estimates, Airbus will have to sell about twice as many A380s to recoup its costs.

[tlb]

Been a while since there has been A300 news.

[SteveH]

They should have bought American airplanes instead...

[dasboot]

Look for the Union Label?

[kerbear413]

actually, Airbus completely deserves this flack as I work for a prominent jet engine manufacturer and all Airbus does is waste incredible amounts non value added time and money on aesthetics rather than functional and technical operation of the engine itself...karma is a b8tch little frenchy frenchmen...

[P-Marlowe]

If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going.

[PAR35]

Been a while since there has been A300 news.

The Boeing folks are keeping their heads down right now. Fewer folks talking about the 380 means fewer talking about the 787.

[Kansas58]

Thanks!
We in Wichita Appreciate your approach!

Boeing Boeing Boeing!

(And don’t let Airbus take our tanker project, either!)

[dasboot]

"Sub-sections of Airbus aircraft are manufactured in different Airbus plants across Europe. This trans-national process is structured around key manufacturing units, each of which is responsible for producing a complete section of the aircraft for delivery to the final assembly lines in Toulouse and Hamburg." Is there a diff between the French planes and German planes? French cars are snot. German cars......

[Secret Agent Man]

Hey, if I was buying such an expensive plane and wasn’t sure it was structurally sound enough to make it to the building I wanted to fly it into, I’d be seriously concerned too.... /sarc

[GonzoGOP]

Dude don't they know you can't PO the first customer, or you won't get a second. With the world economy the way it is they were likely to loose orders in any case. With bad press it just gives the airlines another excuse to break a contract. They are going to play heck getting another 200 birds ordered unless the world economy heats up. And with the lord high Bozo in the White House i don't see that happening for another four years.

[buccaneer81]

fewer talking about the 787.

Allegedly, Boeing is shooting for a late June first flight. I'll believe it when I see it.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

" Been a while since there has been A300 news. "

Correction : it's the A-380 .....

As the Bible says, do not rejoice in your adversary's misfortune... God may make it fall on you .

For those Airbus fans who were laughing at Boeing's problems and misfortune with the 787 ...

[A.A. Cunningham]

A380

A300

[Bobalu]

I always felt safe on the 747 :-)

[bill1952]

LOL! Touche`

[Prophet in the wilderness]

I wonder if Emirates would cancel the rest of their A-380 orders and order the 747-8I instead ?

[Bobalu]

I guess they could tell the Airbus people to buy em back or they will line em all up and on live international TV chop them all up into scrap.

That would be an expensive point to make, but it would totally sink Airbus forever...toast.

[night reader]

They should have bought American airplanes instead...

If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going!

[montanajoe]

Just trying to dump the contract. if Boeing can ever get the 787 into production could be a sales opportunity. But both companies don't have their act together in these product lines right now although airbus is unfortunately ahead/p>

[Captain Peter Blood]

747 has one of the best safety records.
Now I have always wondered about the a380 and now we know it has problems.
Now will the 787 ever really fly or was it way too ambitious??