Airbus delays final assembly of A350 XWB
10 Nov 2011
Paris: European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co NV, parent of commercial aircraft manufacturer Airbus said Thursday it will take a Euro 200 million charge and delay final assembly of the futuristic A350 XWB to early next year, from end of this year, because of supply bottlenecks.
The A350 airliner's entry into service has been delayed because of issues with the airframe's carbon fibre structure. Recently, Airbus has said entry into service for the aircraft won't take place until the first half of 2014, instead of the revised projection of late 2013.
The latest delays are because of supply bottlenecks and its desire to avoid mistakes of the past which it experienced with the A380 superjumbo, chief financial officer Hans Peter Ring told reporters.
"We learned our lesson from the A380. We won't move to the next phase before completing the previous one, and we will not logjam the final assembly again with unfinished parts," Ring said.
Its US rival Boeing Co, whose 787 Dreamliner only recently entered service after a delay of more than three years, too admitted issues with the adoption of new technologies, including the use of weight-saving composite materials.
Ring acknowledged problems with the A350's supply chain. "The overall system is obviously under extreme pressure. Some of the big composite parts are a little bit late, and there are some shortages of detailed parts," he said.
