Qantas Seeking Compensation For Airbus Delay

Australian flag carrier Qantas confirmed June 22 that it was seeking compensation from European manufacturer Airbus for the late delivery of a dozen A380 super jumbo airliners. Qantas had originally been due to receive the first aircraft in October 2006 before the date was pushed back to April 2007 and now until October. Chief executive Geoff Dixon said Qantas' contract with the consortium allowed for compensation in the event of late delivery. But Dixon added that Qantas was not at this time ready to cancel its order for the A380, which he called an "amazingly good" aircraft.

"We are looking and talking to Airbus about replacement aircraft, because obviously when you are planning these things that far out you are expecting the capacity to be there," Dixon said.

Airbus announced last week that the delivery schedule for its A380 super jumbo had been pushed back by six to seven months due to problems installing electrical wiring. It is the second time production of the A380 has been held up due to difficulties with electrical wiring.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006