VAA and the 380

[gas path]

So who's bought VAA's A380 (line positions) AND will their 777-300's still have 'four engines for longhaul' plastered down the side?;) :suspect:

Well it IS a rumour network :suspect:

[Captain Rat]

Try Etihad

[srs what?]

Rumour has it the A380's have been cancelled following delivery of another A340-600 with a great long list of problems and that the company are even considering cancelling the order for the remaining A346's.

Talk amongst engineers is not for B777 but B747-800's - will save on spares and training.

[arewenearlythereyet?]

I believe that Etihad has got the a/c and Emirates the options.

As for "4 engines 4 long haul", that is an Airbus motto and not a Virgin one. You only saw that on the Tuppaware jets and not the Boeings.

[vapilot2004]

Rumour has it the A380's have been cancelled following delivery of another A340-600 with a great long list of problems and that the company are even considering cancelling the order for the remaining A346's.


I've heard about several operators having 'teething' problems with the A340 series - , but I thought that Airbus had these annoyances worked out now and the 340's dispatch reliability had improved greatly since.

[TopBunk]

As for "4 engines 4 long haul", that is an Airbus motto and not a Virgin one.
Think you're wrong there - it's a Virgin thing that was introduced in response to BA bringing the 777 into service on longhaul.
If you think about it, why would it be an Airbus thing - they have a 2-engined Longhaul product in the A330.

[Bluebaron]

So have Virgin scrapped the A380 altogether or just a delay?

[Digitalis]

'4 engines 4 long haul' is indeed an Airbus line - you'll not find it on any of Virgin's Boeings (which carry the line 'Better by 4' instead), but you will find it on Airbus adverts and on the Airbus website.

The Virgin A380 service-entry teams are all still hard at work, and there have been no credible rumours about any changes to the A346 order (7 due for delivery this year). There have been credible rumours of Virgin's A380s being reconfigured from the 524 seat launch fit to a 600+ seat Orlando fit. And the 773ER is strongly tipped as the replacement for some (at least) of the LGW 744s.

['round midnight]

Scroggs, where are you?
sort this out.

[scroggs]

I'm here! I don't know the answer to this - there are a few rumours around the place, but as is the nature of rumours they tend to contradict each other with alarming regularity. As far as I am aware, both the 346 and 380 orders and options (26/10 [I think!] and 6/6 respectively) remain as originally announced, with the delivery schedule delays to the 380 which were announced some time back.

There is much speculation that the B777-300ER is being considered for further expansion and replacement of some of the early B744s, but I have a feeling it might have similar ground manouevring proiblems as the A346 which might prevent its use in the Caribbean. The B747-8 must also be in the frame for replacing the B744 and, as many of the Virgin B744s are very recent aircraft, the timescale may be appropriate. Then again, the extra length of the new 747 may also mitigate against its use in the Caribbean, so a mix of B772s and B748s may be on the cards. Whether the A380 would fall off the horizon in this scenario I have no idea, but it's certainly a possibility. Also, whether the B773ER could replace some of the later A346 deliveries will depend on production positions being available and an economic deal making it viable. As Airbus recently publicly said they would make up for any running cost penalty incurred by A346 operators, it would have to be a hell of a deal!

In other words, I don't know - insufficient data. Sorry!

Scroggs

[ETOPS773]

The plot thickens - I heard this one from engineering:

The A340-300s are to be replaced by A350-900s,A380s kept on, with the options converted for a "soon" to be announced A380-900 launch / order alongside Emirates and Lufthansa.
A340-600s kept on.

So fleet will be:
A380-900 for the bucket and spade routes
A380-800 for other high density routes (JFK, HKG)
A340-600
A350-900 for exisiting A340 routes

Nothing mentioned about the 747s but surely they wouldn't replace them with A340-600s?

[northern boy]

Heres a good one, I was in MCO the other week, discussing this very topic whilst the punters dragged themselves aboard and the (BA)engineer mentioned that he had a mate in Boeing. He seemed to be of the opinion that the 777's would appear in 2008 with the 744-8 sometime after that.:p

As for going totally Airbus, I thought the company rather enjoyed the leverage that dealing with both manufacturers conferred. They certainly got a good deal on the A340-600's. As ever the economics will decide the issue.
Nothing against either type but as an old wise man once said, " I'll belive it at v1":} :}

[Denzil]

An all Airbus fleet will see OTP in single figures, the dispatch reliability could only ever get better!!!!!

Delivery slots would be tight for the ER, Cathay, Emirates & Etihad have the slots sown up & rumour is that BA will announce an order soon!!!

[tired]

Did one of those scintillating CRM-thingies at Crawleyworld the other week and the trainer was adamamant that the 380's have been passed to Etihad, with 777's coming in 2008 or thereabouts. Claims he was told this at some CRM-Empire briefing the day before. But he flies 400s so I don't know how much of an agenda he has?

PS What the hell is an A350?? I obviously haven't been reading Budgie News enough lately...

[Globaliser]

Delivery slots would be tight for the ER, Cathay, Emirates & Etihad have the slots sown up & rumour is that BA will announce an order soon!!!More than rumour. WW announced at the Investor Day today that BA have booked 10 delivery slots for 777s starting from the end of 2008, although there's no formal order yet.

[MarkD]

Rumours are beginning that Emirates could start directing more orders Airbus' way after the Dubai Ports debacle so it might all even out.

[ARINC]

If your interested in the A380 I've recently uploaded this video - free to view and download

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3046542226114078023

[Denzil]

Airbus offering the airlines cash incentives to take the A345/346 over the B777-200LR or 300ER may be a good short term fix but in the long term who will choose to operate or buy them second hand??? So i would guess that it'll be less risky to finance a B777!!!

As for the A380, MSN 10 is i believe still allocated to VS (originally SQ) to be G-VXXL.

[scroggs]

Just another small point - there were several similar rumours that we'd cancelled or sold our A346 orders some years ago, in favour of the B777. Those rumours were baseless. There are many vested interests at work here; I wouldn't believe anything until and unless it's announced by both VS and Airbus.

Scroggs

[tired]

Actually mate, I don't think you can believe it till it departs on it's first revenue service in VS colours!! ;)

[Denzil]

Sorry to disagree with you Scroggs but VS did cancel delivery of some A346. Hence c/n 460 went to Iberia & 468 to China Eastern!!!! They then went into a mad panic to pick up delivery slots later on!!!!

[Doug the Head]

Whilst still dreaming about a job with VS, I was wondering what the actual fleet composition is at the moment. Have all -600´s been delivered?

The numbers on PPJN are slightly different (and perhaps more out of date) than the registrations I found on the CAA website.
At the CAA website I found registrations for 13 744´s, 13 A340-600´s and 9 A340-300´s.

Personally I think that the 772 would be a great choice for VS as this "4 engines 4 long haul" seems a bit outdated in 2006. looking for cover now...

[Leezyjet]

From what I've heard, the A380 has not been cancelled. The situation is no different to what it was last year when the order was delayed until 2008, so Etihad took the VS delivery slots.

After the problems of being launch customer for the A346, VS do not want all the hassle associated with it, which is why they have chosen to wait another year or so. Also by delaying their order it will give them time to see what the competitors are offering onboard. I also suspect that cash flow had something to do with the reason too.

:)

[MarkD]

Doug the Head

this website is usually pretty up to date on VS deliveries
http://www.jethros.i12.com/fleets/fleet_listings/virgin_atlantic.htm