Virgin Pushes Back A380 Delivery

[sevenforeseven]

Virgin Atlantic have pushed back delivery of the A380 by 18 months, original delivery was supposed to have been summer 2006 now it will be early 2008. Virgin have said the reasons behind the decision to delay is that the airport infastructure on the routes to be flown could not match delivery schedules.
Virgin have also mentioned that "other interim" aircraft are being looked at.
Looks as if the 777 may happen.

[eal401]

Looks as if the 777 may happen.

Well, lets hope they put in a decent layout in the back, i.e. not 2-5-2. Whoever thought 5 in the middle is a good idea should fly in the middle of it some time!

[air_a380]

@ sevenforeseven

is there anywhere to get hold of this story?

[phnuff]

I am in no way saying this story is not true, but a quick trawl around the websites of Boeing/Airbus/Virgin has not found a mention of it. I would think Boeing would have at least made capital out of it. A general internet search equally turned out nothing!!

[sevenforeseven]

Sorry guys its on the Virgin internal intranet site.

[davedeetitch]

This looks more and more like the 777 is on its way, better get the paintbrushes out for those 4 engine slogans boys!

[virginblue]

It is also in today's SPEEDNEWS. Another reason given was the need to have more time for interior design.

[colegate]

Why would Virgin want to acquire 777's when there are plenty of secondhand 744's available as well as A340's. I would have thought thta it would be very easy for Airbus to offer Virgin some sort of interim A340 capacity.

Anyway who knows whether the A380 delivery schedule was going to be met anyway.

[scroggs]

The A380 introduction has been delayed primarily because our planned A380 destinations (in particular LAX) are not ready for the aeroplane, and will not be until well after the original in-service date. The company was not prepared to offer a degraded service (remote stands, buses to the aircraft etc), and so preferred to delay the aeroplane until the destinations (initially JFK and LAX) are ready.

We've been down the s/h aircraft route before, and are unlikely to repeat the experience. B744s have little value in the medium term, so lease rates are relatively high (the lessors have to get their money back!), The aircraft is very expensive to run, by modern standards, so, with the A380 out of the picture for a while, the 773 and the A346 are in the frame. Virgin has already exercised two A346 options, and may take more, but with a planned 10% year-on-year expansion, more aircraft are needed. With Boeing's current lack of large-aircraft sales, I suspect there are some very good deals to be had on the 773 - and Virgin made the pips squeak on the A346 deal; I suspect Airbus (who seem to be able to sell all they can make) are playing a harder game this time.....

[Departures Beckham]

Source: Airwise 20MAY04 : http://news.airwise.com/stories/2004/05/1084908365.html

LA, NY, Chicago To Be Ready For A380

Major airports in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago plan to be ready for the Airbus A380 double decker passenger jet in late 2006, their operators said Tuesday, playing down concerns raised by Virgin Atlantic Airways a day earlier.

Airports need to prepare double-decker passenger ramps and reinforce roads and bridges to handle A380 flights that could carry as many as 800 passengers, changes that will cost billions of dollars in some cases.

"We are confident that LAX [Los Angeles International Airport] will be ready to accommodate the A380 with the highest standards of safety when the first airline begins using the aircraft at LAX in late 2006," operator Los Angeles World Airports said in a statement.

That is several months after Singapore Airlines is due to take delivery of the first A380 in the second quarter of 2006.

On Monday, Virgin Atlantic said it would postpone taking delivery of six A380s, citing concern that LAX would not be ready and saying it needed time to modify the new aircraft's cabin.

Virgin said on Tuesday, following the statement by the LAX operator, that there was no change in its statement.

Los Angeles is a key destination for the airlines and lessors which have ordered the long-haul plane.

Korean Air hopes to use the planes on its Seoul-Los Angeles route, for example, to serve LA's large Korean-American population.

Other practical routes would connect major cities like Tokyo and London with New York, Chicago and Miami.

As many as 14 US airports are preparing to accommodate the A380, including New York's John F Kennedy, which has embraced the megajet as a means to ease congested air traffic and reduce noise pollution with its quieter engines.

"We need to adjust not by adding flights but by adding bigger aircraft," said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Last month the agency predicted the A380 would bring 1,040 jobs and USD$82 million in annual economic activity at JFK.

At Chicago's O'Hare, officials also expect to be ready for the A380, said spokeswoman Monique Bond. "We are looking into and making plans to be able to accept the aircraft," Bond said.

Airbus Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy told reporters at a forum in Tokyo on Tuesday that no other airline had asked for a delay. "Sometimes they ask for a month or two but nothing substantial," Leahy said.

Eleven airlines and lessors have ordered the A380, which seats 555 passengers in its standard configuration, supplanting rival Boeing 's long-serving 747 jumbo jet with 416 seats as the world's largest jetliner.

Improvements in Los Angeles and other cities have been delayed by factors ranging from tight budgets to legal and political hurdles to major new projects as well as security concerns in the wake of the September 11, 2001, hijack attacks.