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New delay for Emirates Airbus 380

PARIS - Delivery of a second Airbus A380 to Emirates, the airline of the United Arab Emirates, may suffer a further delay of several weeks, an Emirates spokeswoman told AFP on Saturday.

"We are negotiating with Airbus the delivery date of a second A380. Airbus notified Emirates of a possible delay of a few weeks," the spokeswoman said, without clarifying when Emirates will receive the plane.

However, Airbus did not confirm the delay, which was first reported in French daily Le Figaro on Saturday.

A spokesman for the aircraft manufacturer told AFP Saturday it is "in discussions with Emirates to determine a delivery date" for the second A380.

He added that the airmaker had set itself an ambitious target to deliver 12 A380s this year, four of which have been ordered by Singapore Airlines and one by Emirates.

According to Le Figaro in its weekly economics supplement, Emirates will not receive its second A380 before October 20 because of problems with laying out the cabins.

The Middle East's biggest airline put its first giant A380 into service on August 1 with a direct flight from Dubai to New York.

It hopes to take delivery of four more jumbos serving London, Sydney and Auckland as well as New York by early next year. A further 53 A380s are scheduled to be delivered by June 2013.

"It is too early to estimate the impact of the delay on the calendar for 2009 deliveries," Le Figaro said, adding that the Dubai airline "will have to review its plans for flights."

Emirates, with 58 firm orders for the A380 out of a total 198 from manufacturer EADS, is the biggest customer for the huge European plane and is the second client to take delivery after Singapore Airlines which already has five, with the latest flying the Singapore-London route since mid-July.