(AFP) – May 13, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — European aviation giant Airbus admitted on Tuesday it would fall short of planned deliveries until 2010 of its troubled A380 superjumbo in a fresh setback for the world's biggest passenger jet.

The company, struggling to emerge from deep crisis over earlier delays and production problems, signalled a shortfall of about a third in deliveries.

Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders said the group could produce and deliver "between 30 and 40" of the giant A380s in 2010 -- when it originally planned to hand over 45.

"At the moment, we are confident of being clearly able to produce and deliver more than thirty aircraft, or let's say between thirty and forty aircraft in 2010," Enders told a conference call.

Airbus said in a statement earlier it would now only deliver 12 of the aircraft in 2008 instead of the 13 forecast, and 21 in 2009 instead of the 25 it had expected.

The A380 has already suffered three production delays that put the jet 18 months behind schedule and cost Airbus and parent company EADS an estimated six billion dollars (3.87 billion euros).

Shares in the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company in late-day Paris trade were showing a loss of 0.25 percent at 15.70 euros on a generally stronger market.

Airbus is in the throes of massive restructuring intended to cut 10,000 jobs although last week plans to dispose of some production facilities went awry.

Airbus would not put a figure on the financial losses caused by the new delays but major client Singapore Airlines, the first carrier to take delivery of an A380, was quick to announce they could have an impact on its operations.

The airline said it was waiting to hear from Airbus about the latest setback.

The carrier has already received four of the 19 planes ordered and a fifth is expected to be delivered by early July, an SIA spokesman told AFP.

"Beyond these aircraft, the changes in production schedules will potentially have some impact, the details of which we will need to understand from Airbus," the spokesman said.

"We have seen the announcement from Airbus and are now waiting to hear from them in detail about what the changes to their production schedule mean for deliveries of our aircraft down the line."

The double-decker plane can carry up to 853 people but Singapore Airlines restricts seating to 471 passengers.

Both Airbus and its US rival Boeing have now announced that they cannot keep to their schedules for their star products, the A380 and the 787 Dreamliner, as they grapple with the complex technical challenges involved.

Airbus said it would be discussing a new delivery schedule with customers in the coming months. The last delivery schedule was established in 2006.

"Overall, the recovery programme, initiated in summer 2006, is progressing well," said Airbus.

"Four aircraft were delivered as planned and are performing very well in airline operations on long-range routes. Seventeen aircraft are in various stages of production, mainly in the wiring installation and system testing phases. Most aircraft earmarked for delivery in 2008 have already flown.

"However, the review has also shown that the steep ramp-up planned in 2006 is not fully achievable."

The "time and resources" needed to change from an old production system to a new one had been stretched, the company said.

"The results of this review do not, at this stage, cover the financial impact. The extent of the additional costs will be influenced by the actual production and delivery scenario.

The head of Airbus France, Fabrice Bregier, insisted that the company's current situatuion bore no relation to the "crisis" cicrcumstances of 18 months ago when it was grappling with earlier production difficulties.

"We are not in the crisis situation of 18 months ago," he said. "This is an adjustment in the production pace. The clients have been told and we are in contact with them."

He said the current problems were connected with the transition from an initial phase of individualised production to a second phase, when production is carried out in series.

"We are going to move into this second phase but with a delay of two to three months," he said.

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