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Emirates May Cancel Big Airbus Order | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, (AP) -After announcing its order of 45 Airbus A380 jumbo jets was “up in the air,” Emirates Airline said Thursday that it wanted the European consortium to clarify the aircraft’s delayed delivery schedule.

Emirates’ statements were spurred by the manufacturer’s announcement that deliveries of the 555-seat A380 would be delayed. The double-deck airplane has a list price of $300 million, valuing Emirates’ order at roughly $13.5 billion.

“Emirates awaits clarification from Airbus as to when the rescheduled delivery dates are going to be, and has taken no position with regard to cancellation, compensation, damages,” airline president Tim Clark said in an e-mailed statement.

Clark said the Dubai-based carrier, in the midst of a rapid expansion, was waiting to learn “exactly when the aircraft will be delivered.”

His statement came after Emirates spokeswoman Valerie Tan said the manufacturer’s delay had left the carrier’s order in doubt.

“Things are up in the air right now. It’s hard for us to say. We had such a big order,” Tan said by telephone Thursday. “We haven’t really been officially informed (of the delay). There’s no letter yet. There’s no official discussions.”

Earlier Thursday, Emirates said it had no plans to withdraw its long-standing order of 43 planes being purchased from Airbus as well as two from a separate leasing company.

European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., the parent company of Airbus, said Thursday that it expects delays in its troubled Airbus A380 program.

EADS said it had found “challenges with the wiring” of its aircraft and had not prepared a final delivery schedule or calculated financial impacts of the delays. The company said it would provide more details on the delays and remedies in four weeks.

“Consequently, from what is known today, there will be further delays,” EADS said in a prepared release.

The flagship superjumbo program has already slipped by a year. Airbus announced a first six-month delay early in 2005, followed by a second in June this year.