A380 orders may come in lower than expected

Berlin: Airbus said orders for its A380 superjumbo jet may be one-third lower than previously predicted this year as higher fuel costs and an economic slowdown dent demand for travel.
Airbus may receive about 20 orders for the 525-seat airliner in 2008, John Leahy, the company's chief operating officer and senior salesman, said Wednesday at the Berlin Air Show. Airbus forecast 30 orders as recently as Feb. 20. Production schedules should not be affected, he said.
Airlines are curbing spending as they face losses that may total $40 billion this year. Airbus, which forecasts as few as 700 orders in 2008, the lowest in four years, says the A380 should do well in a recession because of the double-decker plane's economies of scale.
Airbus has so far delivered four A380s, which have a list price of about $327 million, all to Singapore Airlines Ltd. The bulk of Airbus' sales come from single-aisle planes in the A320 series.
European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. --the parent company of Airbus -- posted an operating loss for the first time in its eight-year history last year amid delays and cost overruns on the A380 and Airbus' A400M military-transport program. Airbus announced on May 13 that the A380, already two years late, faces another three months of production delays.
India is among the weakest airliner markets right now and carriers there may cancel or delay plane contracts in the next 12 months, Leahy said. Global orders at Airbus last year totaled a record 1,341 planes.
29/05/08 Chris Reiter/Bloomberg

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Categories: Berlin air show 2008