May 07, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1, 1429

FRANKFURT, May 6: European plane maker Airbus is reviewing the delivery schedule of its flagship A380 superjumbo jet and its most important client Emirates said on Tuesday it had been told to expect new delays.

Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders said he was running “a major review” of the A380 production programme, which has already suffered three delays and generated billion of euros in cost overruns.

He told German media, however, he would not “shoot from the hip” to come up with new delivery dates.

Meanwhile, Dubai’s Emirates, the largest A380 customer with an order for 58 of the massive aircraft, said it had received a letter from Airbus.

“Yes, Emirates can confirm that it has received the letter from Airbus,” an airline spokesman said when asked if it had been informed of the delays. “At present we have nothing more to add.”

The Airbus CEO, who is German, made his comments in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and the German press agency DPA.

In an English-language translation sent by Airbus to AFP, Enders was asked if a press report of further delays to A380 deliveries was correct. “I cannot answer you this question here and now,” the Airbus CEO said.—AFP