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February 24, 2007
Good Grief!
Tim Almond sent me this little story:
United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the last remaining customer for the Airbus A380 superjumbo freighter, said on Friday it reached an agreement for Airbus to push back delivery dates of the planes and left open its option to cancel the order outright.
UPS, the world's largest package delivery company, has been rethinking its order for 10 A380 freighters since October, when Airbus announced a third delay on the giant plane due to wiring problems, putting it two years behind schedule.
UPS's planes were originally scheduled for delivery between 2009 and 2012. The company did not say what new delivery dates it had agreed upon. It is set to make a final decision on the order before the end of this year, a UPS spokesman said.
The U.S. company is Airbus' sole customer for the freighter version of the A380. Rival FedEx Corp. (FDX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) canceled an order and lessor International Lease Finance Corp. and Dubai airline Emirates (EMAIR.UL: Quote, Profile, Research) have switched freighter orders to the passenger version of the plane.
Only one customer for the plane? And they have an option to cancel? My, aren't we glad we stumped up all that launch aid then?
February 24, 2007 in Your Tax Money at Work | Permalink
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Comments
That's the only customer for "the freighter version of the A380". There are a number of carriers with orders for the passenger version.
Tim adds: I know: after all, I am a supplier to the program....well, to the research side of it anyway.
Posted by: Andrew | Feb 24, 2007 8:35:45 AM