KEY POINTS:
KUALA LUMPUR - National carrier Malaysian Airlines is likely to cancel orders for six Airbus A380 aircraft because new delivery dates for the aircraft will no longer fit into its fleet plan, a newspaper reported today.
Malaysia Airlines is expected to get its first A380 by late 2009 based on an earlier understanding that it would get the aircraft a year after rival Singapore Airlines, the Business Times said.
But recent developments at Airbus, whose European workers went on strike over job cuts last Friday, could push delivery dates further than scheduled, it said.
Cancellation of the aircraft orders was one of the options, the daily said, citing unnamed sources.
"Everything is fluid at the moment. Until today, Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd and MAS are still discussing the issue of compensation for the delays and the new delivery schedules with Airbus," the paper quoted a source as saying.
"These planes are really expensive. So there is no point wasting taxpayers' money if it no longer fits into MAS's overall plans."
Penerbangan Malaysia, the parent of Malaysia Airlines, is the buyer of the aircraft, having ordered six of the planes at a price of 1.6 billion Malaysian ringgit ($666 million) in 2003, to lease to the airline, the paper said.
Under the sale and purchase agreement signed between Penerbangan Malaysia and Airbus, the first three planes were due to be delivered later this year, and the remaining three a year later.
- REUTERS
