Airlines shudder at new delay for superjumbo

The world's airlines were forced to review growth plans today after Airbus revealed more delays to its troubled A380 superjumbo…

The world's airlines were forced to review growth plans today after Airbus revealed more delays to its troubled A380 superjumbo, while the jetmaker's parent EADS faced a threat to its key credit rating.

Europe's aerospace firm delayed deliveries of the world's largest jetliner by another year yesterday, leaving it two years behind schedule, because of wiring installation problems.

EADS shares were set to fall sharply, dealers said. EADS predicted a profit shortfall of €2.8 billion over four years on top of €2 billion disclosed in June and announced a €2-billion-euro annual cost-savings programme, far above previous measures.

It also took provisions for penalties to airlines and acknowledged the risk of further charges for its new A350 aircraft, which needs to be redesigned to counter Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

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Debt rating agency Standard & Poor's said overnight it might cut its rating on EADS on the back of the profit warning and the delay, due mainly to problems installing wiring in the $300 million double-decker.

"As the delay will disrupt the expansion strategies of a number of major airlines, the group's competitive position on wide-body aircraft could be adversely affected," the agency said. Australia's Qantas Airways said it would not receive its first A380 until August 2008, two years late.

It expects to receive four of the planes by the end of that year and seven by mid-2009. In the meantime it said it was reviewing its capacity needs.

"How are we going to mount the capacity in the short-term? What does it mean in the long-term? Where do we go from here? It's all part of the review," Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti told Reuters. Qantas did not rule out cancelling the A380 order.

"I'm not going to speculate on that. That's just between us and Airbus," Mr Borghetti said.