Thai Airways To Fine Airbus For A380 Delivery Delays

[kayo]

On 12 December 2006, the A380 aircraft, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, received joint Type Certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), certifying that the aircraft has fulfilled the regulatory bodies' requirements for the safe conduct of flights.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 21 December 2006

Thai airways want a special discount because AIRBUS will be late in delivery????

If Airbus were smart, they could say, "we're not going to be late, we are going to WAIT until Thailand puts down some RUNWAY we can land safely on"

[Jai Dee]

Thai Airways says keeps A380 order, to buy 8 A330s

Thai Airways International will maintain its order for six Airbus A380 superjumbo planes but wants further talks with the plane maker about compensation for delivery delays, a board member said on Friday.

The airline also planned to buy eight A330-300 aircraft after Airbus offered a $10 million discount on each plane as part of the compensation for the A380 delays, Ruengroj Mahasaranond told Reuters after a board meeting.

"In principle, the board has agreed to order six Airbus A380 and another eight A330-300 aircraft," he said. "We need to talk more if there is something wrong with Airbus and who will be responsible for further delayed delivery."

He did not give a total dollar figure for the A330s.

Deliveries of the 555-seat A380, the world's biggest commercial airliner, are two years behind schedule, partly due to problems with installing wiring on the aircraft.

The A330-300 planes would be delivered gradually to Thai Airways starting from next year, when the national carrier was due to decommission 4 or 5 mid-sized aircraft, Ruengroj said.

Airbus, controlled by aerospace group EADS , had apologised for the delay to Thai Airways and expected the first A380 to be delivered in 2010, senior Airbus official Edouard Ullmo said last month.

At the midday break, Thai Airways shares were up 0.6 percent at 44 baht, while the overall Thai stock index was up 1.4 percent.

Source: Reuters - 2 February 2007

[Jai Dee]

THAI, Airbus agree on superjumbo deal

Thailand's national carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) on Wednesday agreed to purchase eight A330-300 aircraft from Airbus Industries at a reduced price as compensation for delays in the scheduled delivery of A380 "superjumbo" aircraft.

THAI executive board chairman Chalit Phukpasuk said Airbus had agreed to offer the airline an additional eight A330-300 aircraft at a 10 million dollar discount each, which would meet their needs for new planes in the near future.

"Within five years some 24 airplanes in THAI's fleet will be over 20 years old so we need to find replacements soon," said Chalit, after concluding talks with Airbus executives Wednesday morning.

Negotations have been underway for months on how Airbus would compensate THAI for delays in the delivery of six A380s because of construction problems. THAI has put down a 97-million-dollar deposit of the delivery of the super jumbos, which are now expected in 20011 or 2012.

Chalit said THAI was pleased with the compensation package as the A 330-300, of which it already has 12 in its fleet, had proven a profitable model for the airline.

Although THAI and Airbus have agreed to the deal, it must still be approved by the finance ministry and the cabinet.

THAI is one of 15 airlines to have pre-ordered a total of 166 A380s, Airbus's newest and biggest aircraft which has run into considerable production delays.

Other Asian airlines that have order A380s include Singapore Airlines (19), Korean Air (5), Malaysia Airlines (6), and China Southern (5). Qantas Airways, a major rival in the region, has ordered 20.

Singapore Airlines has inked a similar compensation arrangement with Airbus for A330-300s at reduced prices, Chalit said.

Thai Airways planned to use the A380 on its popular routes from Bangkok to Frankfurt, London and Paris.

Source: DPA - 14 February 2007

[cdnvic]

I'd have thought they'd use them on Sydney and LAX routes as well.

[backflip]

"delivery of the super jumbos, which are now expected in 20011 "

Dang, that's a long wait.

[cdnvic]

"delivery of the super jumbos, which are now expected in 20011 "

Dang, that's a long wait.

They want to wait until the airport is fixed properly.

[CbrLad]

Seriously, aircraft valuation firm Avitas says A330s went out the door for around $94 million on average in 2006, so $90 million strikes me as believable but hardly compensation for two years of lost revenue.

The other factor no one is talking about is how the cracks are going to effect the A380s when they come in 2010. They cant land at Don Muang and sounds like these heavy monsters might just punch straight through the new runways. Its not a plane that can be diverted to any local airport. Could get more interesting as time goes on, thankfully its only tax money we are talking about with AOT, Airbus and Thai, not real money that people earn and use.

As someone else pointed out aircraft pricing is not as simple as averages. There are many other things that go into a package the effect the price.

Oh Thai won't be the first to land an A380 in Bangkok and it will be before 2010. As for the weights the A380 isn't quite the monster people think, yes its big, but its overall 'foot print' isn't that much bigger than a 747. Its wing span is slightly greater, but length is about a 747 and much shorter than an A340-600. As for weight yes it is heavier but when it comes to pavement loading it is how the weight is distributed that matters not the absolute weight, so an A380 won't be too different from a 747 on landing when it comes to pavement strength.

[The Philosopher]

Why all the hostility? This is just a business deal. If I company doesn't meet a deadline, there are usually penalities negotiated into the contract. There is an inherent nasty undercurrent to this thread.

As an American, I have no problem if Airbus drops them as many suggest that they should. Im sure Boeing will be happy to take their money instead. lol

The problem is that the Boeing tech is now too far behind - re engines and milage economy V passenger load the buck still rules in the USA...............

[cdnvic]

The problem is that the Boeing tech is now too far behind - re engines and milage economy V passenger load the buck still rules in the USA...............

Where do you get that from?

Neither Boeing, nor Airbus build their own engines, and as a matter of fact they both buy engines from the same companies.

The primary engine supplier for both the A380 and the 787 will be Rolls Royce.

[britmaveric]

787 isn't state of the art???

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/787family/background.html

[cdnvic]

...and for that matter, the most effiecient aircraft in the skies right now as in lowest cost per passenger mile is the Boeing 777. Until the A380 is in revenue service, Airbus is still playing catch-up.

[Rinrada]

"delivery of the super jumbos, which are now expected in 20011 "

Dang, that's a long wait.

They want to wait until the airport is fixed properly.

Suggest that 2050 might be nearer the date