Airbus will miss its target of delivering at least 20 A380s this year owing to supplier problems.
The main culprit is Rolls-Royce and its Trent 900. In the aftermath of the uncontained engine failure of one of the turbofans on Qantas QF32, Rolls-Royce has been unable to get sufficient powerplants to Airbus for final assembly as attention has focused on fixing in-service aircraft.
The Qantas aircraft that was to be the 20th delivery is now to be handed over in the first weeks of 2011.
Singapore also has deferred one delivery owing to a Koito seat supply shortfall.
In prior years, Airbus also missed its original delivery goal, owing to its own production problems. For 2010, the aircraft maker was hoping to reach more than just 20 deliveries, and was on track to do so before supplier setbacks set in.
In a note to employees, Airbus CEO Tom Enders notes that by “implementing the operational improvement actions we decided a year ago, we have achieved huge progress on the A380 program this year. Outstanding work and lead-times in our [final assembly lines] have been reduced considerably, production costs have come down and our ramp-up from two to three aircraft per month is well underway. Also very important: the operational reliability of our fleet in service has markedly improved – and so has the satisfaction of our customers with their planes.”
However, he acknowledges that “we still face significant challenges going forward” and that the Trent 900 situation will impact 2011. Just what the impact will be remains unclear.
Also uncertain is whether China Southern, the next new A380 operator, will be impacted. The airline has opted for Trent 900s.
Airbus officials hope to have more clarity by mid-January.
Previously, company officials said they are hopeful the impact on 2011 will be limited somewhat by the fact that about half the planned deliveries are powered by Engine Alliance GP7200s.
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