THE $10.7-BILLION program is on budget, on time and "on" weight, Forgeard says.
I will take Forgeard statement with a huge pinch of salt. History is not on Airbus' side. All Airbus four-holers have not been on time and "on" weight, and hence can be deduced not on budget either. Here's the history:
A340-2/300: original intent was 253.5t MTOW, and certified at 257t but still fell short of Airbus' original promises. I don't quite remember the timeline for this one.
A340-313X: when launched by Singapore, it was a 267t MTOW aircraft and to be delivered 3Q of 1995. Airbus certified the aircraft at 271t in 1Q of 1996, and delivered to SQ in 2Q, and the aircraft was recertified at 275t in 3Q.
A340-600: launched at 365t; delivered at 368t; and first delivery was about two quarters behind.
A340-500: launched at 365t; first delivery to EK was at 368t, but Singapore got a 372t version; it also had about six- to nine-month delay.
Has Airbus learned from the experience? I guess only time will tell.