Emirates receives second A380, expects two more by year-end
27 Oct 2008
Dubai: Dubai-based Emirates said Sunday it will take delivery of two more Airbus 380s by the end of the year soon after it took in a delayed delivery of its second A380 superjumbo on Friday. Airline officials said the airline expects to receive a plane each in November and December and another by the end of March 2009.
Deliveries of the A380 are slowly being brought on track after technical setbacks, communication failures and other delays dating back to 2005.
Emirates said that it will carry out inspections of the second A380 before deploying it on its Dubai-New York route from Monday.
The A380 was originally slated for delivery in September but the schedule was pushed back a few weeks. It took delivery of its first A380 in July.
The airline is the plane's biggest customer and has ordered a total of 58 of the superjumbos. .
So far, the Toulouse-based manufacturer has delivered nine A380s to different airlines and insists that it will meet its target of 12 deliveries for the year despite reports that it is falling even further behind schedule.
