ATW Daily News

Emirates downplays A380 criticism

Tuesday March 17, 2009

Emirates dismissed reports that the A380 has a laundry list of problems that have kept the jet grounded numerous times for repairs. Germany's Der Spiegel claimed over the weekend that the airline, the A380's largest customer, delivered a 46-page list of problems to Airbus that required rectification. EK President Tim Clark told ATWOnline that "the situation has been overblown" and that the reports constituted "a storm in a teacup." He recently told ATW that the A380 has had some niggling and unrelated issues but that Emirates is pleased with the type's entry into service. He also praised Airbus's response to the few problems it has experienced (ATWOnline, Sept. 24, 2008). EK currently is operating four of the type.

Responding to the Der Spiegel story, which claimed the in-service A380s have lost some 500 hr. of flying time due to technical problems, Airbus released a statement saying it takes "the criticism and the feedback from Emirates very seriously. We are doing everything we can to overcome the issues and we are working very closely with our customers to solve that."

by Geoffrey Thomas

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