From the Houston Chronicle:
PARIS — Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. said Monday it received tentative information on the length of delays to the Airbus A380 superjumbo, as the board of Airbus parent EADS prepares to give the green light for a revised delivery timetable.
"We have been contacted by Airbus on the likely shape of a new delay," Virgin Atlantic spokesman Paul Charles said in a telephone interview without elaborating.
EADS is expected to approve the new timetable as soon as Tuesday.
Some airlines had indicated that cancelations of their orders could not be ruled out after EADS confirmed Sept. 21 that deliveries of the 555-seater superjumbo will be pushed back a third time. Dubai-based Emirates, the biggest A380 customer, said its 45-plane deal was "up in the air," and Virgin Atlantic had said the delays could affect its orders for six superjumbos.
Virgin Atlantic's Charles would not say whether changes to the order remain a possibility in light of the new information received from Airbus.
"We're still waiting for them to confirm some detailed schedules," Charles said.
Spokespeople for Emirates, Lufthansa and Air France declined to comment on whether the airlines had received any new information from Airbus on their orders.
But a person close to Airbus, who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential, said the plane maker is presenting the new production schedule to customers in order to gauge potential compensation claims and their impact on EADS profits.
European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. shares closed 1.2 percent lower at euro22.40 (US$28.41) in Paris. The stock plunged 26 percent on June 14 after Airbus announced a second six-month A380 delay and euro2 billion (US$2.5 billion) profit warning.
The crisis led to the sacking of Airbus boss Gustav Humbert and EADS co-CEO Noel Forgeard _ who remains under investigation by market authorities after it emerged that he exercised stock options at a profit of euro2.5 million (US$3.2 million) just weeks before ordering an internal probe into the delays.
EADS is tightening its control over Airbus and is expected to buy BAE Systems PLC's 20 percent stake in the plane maker. BAE shareholders vote Wednesday on a management recommendation to go ahead with the euro2.75 billion (US$3.5 billion) sale.
German magazine Der Spiegel reported Monday that German politicians are discussing whether the government should buy a stake in EADS if its largest shareholder, Stuttgart-based DaimlerChrysler AG, sells all or part of its 22.5 percent stake.
Without citing sources, Der Spiegel reported that state-owned bank KfW could buy the EADS shares with privatization proceeds. A government spokesman described the report as "speculation" but declined to comment further.
DaimlerChrysler and Lagardere SCA announced in April that they were each selling 7.5 percent of EADS, leaving the German carmaker with a 22.5 percent stake and the Paris-based defense and media company with 7.5 percent. The French state owns 15 percent stake of EADS.