Airbus hopes to double A380 production in 2010

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PARIS: Plane maker Airbus aims to double output of its new A380 superjumbo in 2010, the company’s chief operating officer Fabrice Breguier said in an interview published yesterday.

BETTER PERFORMANCE: Tom Enders addressing an EADS press conference at the military Airbus’ plant in Seville. European aircraft maker Airbus yesterday said it had outperformed US rival Boeing in 2009 with 498 plane deliveries and 310 orders but its parent company said turnover had dropped. — AFP photo

BETTER PERFORMANCE: Tom Enders addressing an EADS press conference at the military Airbus’ plant in Seville. European aircraft maker Airbus yesterday said it had outperformed US rival Boeing in 2009 with 498 plane deliveries and 310 orders but its parent company said turnover had dropped. — AFP photo

“Airbus’s objective is to double A380 deliveries in 2010,” Breguier was quoted as saying the French business daily Les Echos.

“Our objective is deliver 20 A380s this year, attaining a stable rate of two planes per month in  the  second half   of   the  year,”  he  added.

In 2008 Airbus delivered 12 of the superjumbos.

Breguier said the company’s industrial capacity should allow them to eventually complete four of the aircraft per month, but “a lot remains done to streamline the production process and, in the longer term achieve a more systematic standard-isation.”

Production of the superjumbos has been delayed by the lack of integration between the company’s various production sites.

Technical glitches have also forced a number of the planes in service to be grounded. — AFP