Airbus meets A380 delivery target
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Airbus reached its target of delivering 12 A380 aircraft in 2008, bringing the total number of A380s delivered to date to 13, according to the European aircraft manufacturer.
The first A380 was delivered to Singapore Airlines on 15 October 2007, with five more delivered to the airline in 2008. Qantas received three A380s in 2008, and Emirates four – the most recent of which was delivered on the 30 December 2008.
“We have met our 2008 delivery schedule”, said Tom Enders, Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer. “That was only possible thanks to a tremendous team effort. This gives us a good basis to further ramp up our production in 2009,” he added.
According to Airbus, the in-service A380 fleet has flown more than 2,200 commercial flights carrying more than 890,000 passengers. The superjumbo is now flying on seven major international routes, linking Singapore with Sydney, London and Tokyo, Dubai with New York and London, and Sydney and Melbourne with Los Angeles.
The meeting of its 2008 target will come as a relief for Airbus, which has been beset by delays to the plane’s manufacturing and delivery schedules. This year-end high note however, along with the high-profile launches of each new A380 and the continued delays to Boeing’s rival Dreamliner aircraft, should be enough to negate any negative publicity.
Current orders for the aircraft stand at 198 from 16 customers.
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