A380-800

Airbus a annoncé lundi avoir livré 22 A380 cette année à fin octobre,
en ligne pour atteindre son objectif de 30 livraisons fixé pour 2012
malgré les perturbations suscitées par la découverte en début d'année de
fissures sur les ailes du très gros porteur.
La filiale du groupe d'aérospatiale
et de défense EADS, qui a livré cinq A380 lors du seul mois d'octobre, a
en revanche récemment reconnu que son objectif de 30 commandes cette
année serait difficile à atteindre. Il n'en a en effet reçues que quatre
sur les dix mois à fin octobre.

EADS a annoncé jeudi dernier, lors de
la publication de ses résultats trimestriels, une charge d'environ 260
millions d'euros sur l'exercice liée aux réparations des fissures des
ailes des 30 A380 qu'il prévoit de livrer cette année.

Au total, Airbus a engrangé 460
commandes brutes sur la période janvier-octobre, soit un total de 403
commandes nettes après annulations, et a livré 462 avions.
http://www.boursorama.com/actualites/airbus-a-livre-22-a380-a-fin-octobre-0b85af9e1b8d88a4e53a95f693adc839

Clark hopes that the A350 will match the Airbus A380 program, which
has exceeded performance expectations. “I kind of looked at the A380 as a
late, overweight aircraft,” he says. “But when she flew, she was
faster, more fuel-efficient and more aerodynamical and still is.” Clark
points out that “the faster you fly [the A380], the more fuel-efficient
she gets; when you fly at [Mach] 0.86 she is better than at 0.83.”
Also,
Emirates has observed a very low degradation factor: The first aircraft
delivered in 2008 would normally perform around 2.5-3% less efficiently
than in the beginning, but according to Clark the degradation has been
only around 1%. Also, Airbus and Emirates have taken a combined 5 tons
out of the aircraft’s weight.
“Now roll that forward into the
A350–it is late and overweight. But we got a pleasant surprise with the
A380, maybe we also get a pleasant surprise with the A350-900 and
-1000,” Clark says.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is moving closer to
certifying proposed permanent repairs and newly designed wings for the
Airbus A380 following the detection of cracks in wing rib feet on
numerous in-service aircraft last year.
EASA expects to certify
the permanent modification to wings of in-service aircraft and those
that have been built, but not yet delivered, in the first quarter of
2013, according to an official. EASA approved of the work for in-service
aircraft by the end of December but put a two-year limit on the
approval; some paperwork also had not been finalized. The preliminary
certification will be replaced with a permanent approval in the first
quarter along with the certification of the work on completed but
yet-to-be-delivered aircraft.
Certification of the newly designed
wing is now expected to happen in the second quarter of 2013, although
EASA has not commented on the exact schedule. The new wings will become
available in early 2014. Qatar Airways has deferred delivery of its
first A380 by several months to enable Airbus to integrate the redesign
on all Qatar aircraft on order.
In-service aircraft are currently
subject to short-interval checks and preliminary repairs that must be
repeated depending on utilization. The permanent fix, which includes the
replacement of several hybrid ribs made of composites and the Al 7449
alloy, is expected to require aircraft to be grounded for several weeks.
Airbus also has offered airlines a repair schedule that can be included
in C-checks, so that no additional ground time is needed. However, that
would spread modifications over a longer period of time.
The modifications affect 120 aircraft, 92 of which had been delivered by the end of November 2012.