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Delivery of Emirates' 2nd A380 faces delay

DUBAI - An Emirates Airline spokesperson on Thursday said the delivery of the second Emirates Airbus A380 would be delayed for weeks, pushing back the introduction of the first daily A380 service to New York.

"The delivery of our second A380 aircraft will be pushed back by a few weeks," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Discussions are under way with Airbus regarding the delivery date."

The delivery has been delayed until October 20 from September due to supplier issues with interior outfitting, according to an article in Flight International, a global aerospace weekly publication, citing sources in Dubai and Hamburg.

It added that the second 489-seater A380, MSN013, is intended for Emirates Airline's direct Dubai-New York service, supposedly to start on October 1. It is also supposed to replace a Boeing 777-300ER for the daily service to the US.

Airbus declined to discuss delivery schedules of its aircraft in accordance to company rules, the publication said.

However, the European airbus manufacturer stressed it was still on track to deliver 12 A380s before the end of the year. It has so far delivered five A380s this year.

The flight between Dubai and New York's John F Kennedy International Airport is currently operated by Emirates Airline's first A380, which has 491 seats, and a Boeing 777-300ER with at least 354 seats.

Flight International said the Dubai carrier would likely boost capacity to compensate for the 135-seat gap between the 777-300ER and the A380. It also quoted sources at the Dubai carrier as saying that daily service would start on October 26.

jose@khaleejtimes.com