China's - Orient Aviation

The ‘queen of the skies’By TOM BALLANTYNEin Toulouse and Singapore andCHARLES ANDERSONIt’s been a long time coming withmany trials and tribulations alongthe way, but the first Airbus A380to enter commercial service withSingapore Airlines (SIA), is nowplying its first route between Singapore andSydney.SIA chief executive, Chew Choon Seng,on accepting delivery of the first of 19 A380sit has on order in Toulouse eight days earlier,described the double-deck jet as “the start ofa new chapter in the history of commercialaviation ... a new queen of the skies for airtravel.”But Chew did not ignore the A380’sconsiderable birth pains and the fact it was18 months behind the original schedule. “Wewere inconvenienced. I would be less thancandid if I said we were not unhappy aboutthe situation ... [but] the A380 is well worththe wait,” said the chief executive whoseairline also has five A380 options.With close to a one year head start onits competitors – the next customer, QantasAirways, will receive its first A380 in Augustnext year – SIA unveiled a ground-breakinginflight product (see next page). The carrierhas 471 seats in three classes with the emphasison comfort rather than gimmicks.But while the eyes of the world were onthe launch of the A380, the Airbus problemsrefused to go away. As champagne corkspopped in Toulouse, Singapore and Sydney,the question of whether Airbus couldcontinue delivering A380s on time wasnever far away.And the European manufacturers’president and chief executive, Tom Enders,refused to comment on alleged insidertrading by Airbus and EADS (the Airbusparent company) executives immediatelyprior to the production delays but he did notside-step the delay issue.The first delivery milestone is part of afour-year recovery programme, said Enders.The big challenge of ramping up production– 13 aircraft next year, 25 in 2009 and 45 in2010 – lay ahead.“Nothing is guaranteed in life but … weOn the steps of the A380 in Toulouse from left: Sir John Rose, CEO, Rolls-Royce;Arnaud Lagardère, EADS shareholder; Louis Gallois, CEO, EADS; Chew ChoonSeng, CEO Singapore Airlines and Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEOhave every reason to believe at this point,with all the lessons we have learnt, all thenew processes and tools we are going toapply, that we can make it,” said Enders.The major delays were caused by thecomplexity of fitting 530 kms of electricalwiring in the aircraft. Airbus currently has1,000 workers from its Hamburg operationin Toulouse working with their Frenchcounterparts, virtually building each planeby hand.Ironically, the delays appear to havehad some benefits. “This plane has donemore test flying and more tryouts at variousairports than any other new aircraft I haveexperienced in the past 30 years,” said SIAchief Chew.Airbus chief operating officer customers,John Leahy, echoed the sentiment, sayingthe delay was a two-edged sword. “Onewas obviously delivering the aircraft toA380 quotes‘Immediately, youforget you are in alarge aircraft. Youhandle it like asmall aircraft, itslike riding a bicycle’Jacques Rosaychief test pilotSingapore, to Qantas and everyone up totwo years later than we thought,” he said.“We used the extra time we had due tothe production ramp-up difficulties to makesure the systems were more mature thanthey otherwise might have been with a newaircraft.”“It’s like the old saying: better late thannever. It would be better if you were neverlate, but this is a very complex industry andBoeing knows that too.”“It was a challenge. We knew it was achallenge and we have apologised to ourcustomers for the delays, but now we arefinally delivering. The future of aviation ishere today,” he said.Airbus chief Enders told Orient Aviationearlier in the month: “We know that manypotential customers are waiting to see howthis aircraft will behave in public beforedeciding [whether to order it]. When I seehow excited the public is about the planeI know other carriers will be put undermuch pressure from their passengers to alsooperate the A380.”Enders, calls the A380 the “Gentle GreenGiant” because of its environmental benefits:lower noise and emissions.“The A380 is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.That’s why increasing A380 production tomeet demand remains our biggest challengefor the next few years. Airlines need theA380, and they need it fast,” said Enders inToulouse.NOVEMBER 2007 ORIENT AVIATION 15