Airbus sends A380 on U.S. goodwill flight
Bid for contracts: Plane maker badly needs moral, financial lift
Bill Rigby
Reuters
Friday, March 16, 2007
Airbus is suffering through financial losses and corporate turmoil due to delays.
NEW YORK - Airbus SA will fly its A380 superjumbo to the United States for the first time on Monday, hoping the world's largest passenger jet will catch on with American travelers and win over skeptical U.S. airlines.
The 555-seat, double-decker plane with a wingspan almost the length of an American football field has racked up 156 orders so far, but none from U.S. airlines, which usually prefer Boeing Co. planes.
Signing up a U.S. airline would be a huge financial and morale boost for Airbus, which is suffering through financial losses and corporate turmoil due to delays on the huge plane, which is set to enter service with Singapore Airlines Ltd. later this year.
Even though some industry executives expect the A380 to be successful, U.S. carriers are not seen ordering any time soon.
"It doesn't look like there's anything's stirring," said Paul Nisbet at aerospace specialists JSA Research. "The timing is too early. Maybe 10 years from now it'll be in its heyday."
Airbus, owned by European aerospace group EADS, did not return a call seeking comment.
The massive plane, which needs special equipment to unload passengers, is significantly bigger than the biggest plane on Boeing's drawing board -- the stretched 747-8 "Intercontinental" jumbo, with 467 seats.
The two planes have a flight range of about 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 kilometers), but Airbus is touting better economics with the extra seats and improved fuel efficiency.
Still, U.S. airlines -- which have moved toward smaller planes for international routes in recent years such as Boeing's 777 mini-jumbo and its planned mid-sized 787 "Dreamliner" -- have shown no interest so far.
Just recovered from a five year slump after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the carriers are only now set to modernize their fleets but are unwilling to bet on the untested giant.
The plane is poorly suited for the routes of U.S. carriers, is too big, and has too many seats, US Airways Group Inc. President Scott Kirby said at the airline's media day on Wednesday.
The airline, one of Airbus' best U.S. customers, seems to represent the feelings of most of its rivals.
"American has never expressed any interest in the A380," said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, the world's biggest airline.
The plane does not fit with American's plan to focus on the business-class market on its Asian routes, said Wagner.
The one ray of light for Airbus in the U.S. is International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC), the world's largest plane lessor and one of the most influential plane buyers, which has 10 A380s on order.
"We believe there's still a market for that airplane," said John Plueger, ILFC's chief operating officer, in an interview last month.
"The industry will face mounting infrastructure limitations," said Plueger. "It just means planes will get bigger. We've known that for many years."
International air traffic will grow about 5.6 percent annually over the next few years, according to the International Air Transport Association. At that rate, global traffic will double by 2020.
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