Sir James

Singapore Airlines chief furious at A380 delay, threatens to sue Airbus
08-06-2005, 11h51
BERLIN (AFP)

Singapore Airlines chief executive officer Chew Choon Seng gestures during a press conference in Singapore, April 7, 2004. Chew is furious with Airbus over a delay in delivering its giant A380 airliners and could sue the European aircraft maker for damages, he said in an interview to appear next week.

He told the Germany weekly Focus On Saturday that the first double-decker planes would not be delivered to SIA, a launch customer for the aircraft, until November next year, eight months later than originally promised.

"Airbus took some time to acknowledge the delay in the timetable for the A380's entry into service," Chew said, adding, "I would have expected more sincerity."

He said the delay "greatly upsets our forecasts with regard to capacity," while ageing Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets would have to be kept flying for longer.

In addition the programme for training flight crew and engineers would be disrupted.

Chew said a clause in the sale contract provided for SIA to seek damages for late delivery.

"It's like a taxi hire," he said. "The longer the journey, the more it costs. Each month's delay will be more expensive for Airbus."

SIA has ordered 10 A380s, the biggest airliners ever, with an option for another 15, to operate initially on flights from Singapore to London and Sydney.

Chew said SIA would now be focussing on Boeing rather than Airbus, given that SIA would now be receiving 19 Boeing 777-300ER airliners before the A380s, instead of after.