Airbus SAS, the world's largest maker of commercial aircraft, has deferred delivery of Malaysia Airlines' MAS) first of six superjumbo A380s for a third time, without giving a reason. MAS A380 one of the most anticipated aircraft.
The national carrier will now take delivery of its first plane in the first half of 2012 instead of August 2011.It is unclear whether the airline will be compensated for the delay in the delivery of the aircraft. The list price of one A380 is US$315 million (RM1 billion).The new delay in delivery will be a setback for MAS' plans to increase capacity on high-density routes such as London and Sydney. MAS' parent company Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd had initially ordered the six A380s in 2003 for delivery from January 2007 to December 2008.
The delivery of the aircraft was deferred to January 2011 and then to August 2011, due to Airbus encountering problems ramping up the pace of its A380 production, in part because of the large amount of customisation of each plane.It then had to scale back deliveries of its A380s for 2009 and 2010 after customers deferred orders due to the economic crisis.It was reported that MAS had received in excess of RM330 million so far in compensation for the delays.
I think MAS should purchase Boeing 747-8 later on to replace its Boeing 747-400. Boeing 747-8 can fly longer range, nicer interior, more fuel efficient and more load factor as compared with 747-400. Thus it would reduce operating cost in future. The delay really take a long time for MAS and it will effect MAS for modernisng its fleets. From my perspective view, MAS should purchase B787 to make direct flight to New York, Stockholm, Zurich, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Milan, Manchester, Berlin, Dublin etc in order to capture the market shares and increase MAS' profit in future. 787 is single aisle aircraft reducing the maintenance cost and further more this aircraft suitable for long haul with low load factor.
