A380-800

Europe's safety regulator has assured that certification for the Airbus A380's reworked wing is on track and near completion.
Airbus
had originally hoped that it could secure approval for the permanent
retrofit last year but subsequently acknowledged that the process would
move into early 2013.
The fix addresses the rib-bracket cracking problem which emerged in January 2012.
Aircraft
already in service, as well as those in advanced production on the
final assembly line, are being modified through a retrofit which
replaces hybrid ribs in each wing, and also involves fitting additional
local reinforcement.
The European Aviation Safety Agency says it
is "in the final stage of releasing" the final closing airworthiness
documentation which will approve and mandate this full-life retrofit of
in-service and undelivered A380s.
"Things are progressing normally and according to plan," the authority says, insisting that there is no hold-up in the approval.
"Target
dates are provided as a very broad indication, as far as certification
is concerned, and should always be taken very broadly, and [seen as]
approximate."
Airbus has delivered 100 A380s but has forecast that it will hand over around 120 before a solution is finally in place.
Certification of the final production fix, however, will be carried out "at a later stage", says EASA.
This will focus on approving the permanent rectification of the problem, which will be integrated into A380 wing production.
Airbus
is to replace the hybrid ribs with all-aluminium components built from a
more robust material, and make other amendments to the wing structure,
as part of a revised production process. The airframer plans to start
delivering the first A380s with these all-new wings to customers in
2014.

pascal974 a écrit:ça commence a devenir un inquiétant coté commande, sinon bientot les gars qui bosse sur la ligne A380 risque de se retrouvé au chomage technique ....la crise n'arrange pas les choses

Expect to learn a lot more about the exact offering for a stretched version, or maybe two, of the A380 by the end of the year.

Jens Flottau
‏@AvWeekFlottau




43 min







EADS CFO Wilhelm says there are delivery
positions for A380 in 2015 that need to be filled. Boeing already
decided to reduce 747-8 output

Airbus SAS said it must step up
efforts to market its flagship A380 as it still lacks buyers for
some of the 30 double-decker planes it wants to build and
deliver in 2015, the year the program is supposed to break even.

While Airbus still believes in the business rationale
behind the superjumbo plane, the company needs to work harder to
win more customers, Harald Wilhelm, the chief financial officer
of Airbus and parent company European Aeronautic, Defence &
Space Co., told journalists today. Airbus reiterated that it
expects to deliver 25 double deckers this year.

“There are still some slots to be booked from 2015 so this
is a top priority for John and his team,” Wilhelm said,
referring to John Leahy, the head of sales at the Toulouse,
France-based planemaker. “Our view on the A380 is unchanged.
This asset has its its place.”

Airbus brought in only four new orders for the A380 last
year, compared with a target of 30, and the company hasn’t
booked a purchase for the airliner this year, on a goal of 25
contracts. The company has cut back output plans as it works
through changing the wing structure, eating into sales growth
that EADS reiterated will be “modest” in 2013.

EADS rose as much as 84 cents, or 2 percent, to 42.04 euros
in Paris, and traded at 41.85 euros as of 10:34 a.m. The company
said earnings before interest, tax and one-time items in the
first quarter rose to 741 million euros ($963 million), boosted
by Airbus profit that more than doubled.

Cutting Output


Boeing Co. (BA) said last month it is cutting the production
rate of its 747-8 model to 1.75 planes a month from two, citing
dwindling demand. Wilhelm declined to say if Airbus is also
considering adjustments. He didn’t say how many slots, or
production positions, lack promised buyers, saying it’s
“clearly in single digits” and that the company would make
every effort to deliver profitable planes regardless of output.

Airbus starts cutting metal for planned A380 deliveries
about two years before the plane is handed over, while it
doesn’t need to know the buyer for cabin customization until
about nine months before the transfer. A permanent fix for wing
rib feet will be incorporated into planes handed over from 2014.

Wilhelm said the A380 typically wins more business toward
the latter part of the year, and the aviation industry still has
the Paris Air Show and the equivalent expo in Dubai ahead, where
airlines tend to place large orders.

“They’ll need a good Paris Air Show, and certainly good
announcements at Dubai to fill the gap,” said Yan Derocles, an
analyst at Oddo Securities in Paris. “I think it’s critical to
manage break-even on this program in 2015.”

Besides the A380, Airbus’s other challenge is getting its
smaller A350 wide-body jet ready for flight. The first flyable
A350 rolled out of the paint shop yesterday as engineers prepare
for its maiden take-off, and Wilhelm said today he’s more
confident of a first flight this summer.

Paul a écrit:Mais même si Airbus a 160 avions en commande, ils doivent tout de même trouver un ou des clients qui veulent prendre une dizaine d'avions en 2015 (18-24 mois) et les fournisseurs sont sur le point de débuter la production des avions de 2015 si ce n'est déjà fait. À moins de produire tout de même les avions en espérant les vendre en cours de route et espérer ne pas se faire laver sur les prix et prendre le risque d'avoir des "white tails" sur le tarmac.