UPS has drawn up a new agreement with Airbus which allows it to pull out of its order for 10 of theEuropean company’s new A380 “mega-freighters” later this year.
The agreement, signed on Thursday and announced on Friday of last week, sets out a timetablefor deciding the status of UPS’s $2.8 billion order following production delays, mainly due toelectrical wiring problems. Either company can pull out of the order if any more problems or delaysarise.
It changes delivery dates – setting them even later than the current eight-month delay,according to reports – and, UPS said in a statement, “provides for possible termination of theoriginal purchase agreement by either party later in 2007”.
The carrier’s first A380s, to serve long, heavy load routes such as between the USA andChina, were originally scheduled for delivery in 2009 and the final ones in 2012. Delivery of thefirst planes was put back last year to May 2010. The companies are keeping the new delivery datessecret.
“UPS’s decision to purchase the A380 freighter was based on a lengthy evaluation of ourfuture network needs to meet customer demands across a variety of global trade lanes,” said BobLekites, UPS’s vice-president for airline and international operations.
“Those needs still exist and UPS has been carefully evaluating various options since Airbusannounced production delays late last year. This agreement will provide us additional time toevaluate our network requirements and make a decision once and for all as to how best to ensureservice to our customers.”
Overall, the aircraft is reportedly two years behind schedule. UPS’ rival FedEx and leasingfirm ILFC cancelled their orders for the freighter late last year, FedEx in favour of Boeing 777s.
UPS ordered 27 new B767-300 freighters earlier this month, but said they were for a differentpurpose than that it was planning for the A380s.
The delays and an increasingly cut-throat competition war with Boeing are forcing Airbus intoa major restructuring which could see 10,000 of 55,000 jobs axed at the company.
