First A380 delivery again delayed

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PARIS, France (CNN) -- Only one Airbus A380 superjumbo passenger jet will be delivered next year -- to Singapore Airlines in October -- down from the nine announced in June, Airbus has confirmed.

It said deliveries in 2008 would number 13 aircraft, down from 35, followed by 25 in 2009 and 45 in 2010.

The new delivery schedule represents a delay of almost two years from the original schedule. Airbus had already announced a delay of 12 months in June.

Airbus said in a statement late Tuesday it was in "close contact" with its customers and was "doing its utmost to find ways and means to alleviate the burden this represents for them."

Dubai-based Emirates airline says it has been told deliveries of the A380 have been delayed a further 10 months.

Tim Clark, president of Emirates, which is the biggest single client for the A380, said: "Emirates has been advised by Airbus of a further 10 months delay to its A380 program, which means that our first aircraft will now arrive in August 2008.

"This is a very serious issue for Emirates and the company is now reviewing all its options."

Qantas said in Sydney Wednesday that it also now would not receive its first A380 until August 2008.

Qantas Chief Financial Officer Peter Gregg said the airline was disappointed with the delay and had begun a capacity review.

Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic said it had also been contacted about the delays.

"We have been contacted by Airbus and given details of the shape of the delay," a Virgin Atlantic spokesman said.

Airbus, the world's second-largest aerospace group after Boeing, has shed a quarter of its market value this year as it lurched from crisis to crisis, including delays to the A380 and a costly redesign of the A350.

Airbus said Tuesday it had underestimated the amount of work needed to fix the A380 production problems.

"With the right tools, the right people, the right training and the right oversight and management being put in place, the issue is now addressed at its root, although it will take time until these measures bear fruit," it said.

Airbus also said it was launching a restructuring and cost-cutting program that would lift productivity and reduce development times for new products.

It said the program aimed to make cost savings of at least €2 billion a year from 2010 onwards.

EADS said when it announced the latest delivery postponements last month that it would provide more detailed information within four weeks, giving itself time to digest board decisions before setting out new targets to investors.

Analysts say the company is under pressure to present a clear picture to prevent a further loss of confidence in the superjumbo project -- now over a year late and eating into cash Airbus needs to redeploy to its A350 project.

A380 delays have already triggered a 2 billion-euro profit warning spread over four years from EADS, reflecting the sliding payment schedule and fines to airlines for late delivery.

Planemakers get paid when they deliver aircraft, not when orders are placed. The A380 list price is $300 million.

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