Thai Airways warns Airbus about Delays

Published: 17/11/06

Executives from Bangkok based Thai Airways have warned Airbus that it is considering cancelling its order for 6 A380 super jumbo aircraft thanks to production delays caused by the complex wiring for the entertainment systems on board the plane.

The spokesman for the airline commented that the delay of up to 3 years has forced the airline to reconsider their long term business plans for passenger targets. The delays in production of two years are already expected to cost Airbus around 6.1 billion US dollars.

The US courier company Federal Express recently cancelled its order for 10 cargo carrying A380 aircraft due to the production delays, and other airlines including Emirates are said to be reconsidering their positions, although it is possible that many carriers are simply presenting a tough face in the hope of gaining concessions over the price of the USD200 million planes.

In separate news, Thai Airways is thought to be in early discussions with Italian carrier Alitalia over a possible tie up on routes including flights to Bangkok that could form part of a rescue plan for the struggling Alitalia.

Author: