UPS to Cancel Airbus Order
By MIKE BARRIS
March 2, 2007 9:48 a.m.
United Parcel Service Inc. said Friday it will cancel an order for 10 Airbus A380 freighter aircraft because it is "no longer confident" that the plane-maker can deliver the planes on schedule.
UPS is the last remaining customer for the freighter version of Airbus's A380 plane. FedEx Corp. and International Lease Finance Corp., a unit of American International Group Inc., canceled their orders last year amid repeated delays to the superjumbo's construction schedule.
Airbus said Thursday it had frozen work on the A380 freighter program and will use the spare capacity for delayed passenger versions of the plane. Michael Hauger, a spokesman for Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. had told Dow Jones Newswires that Airbus was still committed to a freighter version of the plane, but the schedule had been delayed.
Last week, Airbus and UPS announced a revised delivery schedule for the 10 freighter aircraft, postponing the delivery of them to UPS. Under the new schedule, UPS would take delivery of 10 of the freighter version of the Airbus A380 aircraft between 2012 and 2013, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday.
UPS was originally scheduled to take its first delivery of the A380 freighter in 2009, but last fall Airbus told the package delivery company that the earliest it could get the aircraft was 2010.
"Based on our previous discussions, we had felt that 2012 was a reasonable estimate of when Airbus could supply this plane," UPS President and Chief Operating Officer David Abney said in a release Friday. "We no longer are confident that Airbus can adhere to that schedule."
"UPS had intended to complete an internal study of whether it could wait until 2012 for the aircraft, but now understands Airbus is diverting employees from the A380 freighter program to work on the passenger version of the plane," Mr. Abney added.
In its release, UPS said the "final cancellation decision will be formally presented to Airbus on the first date specified under an agreement reached last week that gives either party the right to terminate the order."
By MIKE BARRIS
March 2, 2007 9:48 a.m.
United Parcel Service Inc. said Friday it will cancel an order for 10 Airbus A380 freighter aircraft because it is "no longer confident" that the plane-maker can deliver the planes on schedule.
UPS is the last remaining customer for the freighter version of Airbus's A380 plane. FedEx Corp. and International Lease Finance Corp., a unit of American International Group Inc., canceled their orders last year amid repeated delays to the superjumbo's construction schedule.
Airbus said Thursday it had frozen work on the A380 freighter program and will use the spare capacity for delayed passenger versions of the plane. Michael Hauger, a spokesman for Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. had told Dow Jones Newswires that Airbus was still committed to a freighter version of the plane, but the schedule had been delayed.
Last week, Airbus and UPS announced a revised delivery schedule for the 10 freighter aircraft, postponing the delivery of them to UPS. Under the new schedule, UPS would take delivery of 10 of the freighter version of the Airbus A380 aircraft between 2012 and 2013, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday.
UPS was originally scheduled to take its first delivery of the A380 freighter in 2009, but last fall Airbus told the package delivery company that the earliest it could get the aircraft was 2010.
"Based on our previous discussions, we had felt that 2012 was a reasonable estimate of when Airbus could supply this plane," UPS President and Chief Operating Officer David Abney said in a release Friday. "We no longer are confident that Airbus can adhere to that schedule."
"UPS had intended to complete an internal study of whether it could wait until 2012 for the aircraft, but now understands Airbus is diverting employees from the A380 freighter program to work on the passenger version of the plane," Mr. Abney added.
In its release, UPS said the "final cancellation decision will be formally presented to Airbus on the first date specified under an agreement reached last week that gives either party the right to terminate the order."
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