News Letter form SQ.

December 14 , 2006

The Airbus A380 reaches another key milestone towards becoming the largest passenger airliner to enter commercial service.

On 12 December 2006, the A380 aircraft, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, received joint Type Certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), certifying that the aircraft has fulfilled the regulatory bodies' requirements for the safe conduct of flights.

This double seal of approval provides clear evidence of the technical soundness of the A380 and confirmation that the aircraft is meeting or exceeding expectations in terms of performance, range, environmental friendliness, and cabin comfort.

The EASA and FAA A380 Type Certificates were awarded at a ceremony held at the Airbus facilities in Toulouse, France. Senior officials from EASA, FAA and international Civil Aviation Authorities were in attendance.

The certification by the two major international governing bodies comes after the A380 successfully completed a stringent programme of certification trials. These trials took the aircraft and its systems well beyond their design limits to ensure the aircraft satisfies or exceeds all airworthiness criteria. The A380 is also the first aircraft to which 21st century certification standards were applied.

The long and varied series of flight tests have also demonstrated the A380's many exceptional qualities as a passenger aircraft. It has very low fuel burn, contributing to the lowest operating costs and very low emissions. An environmental champion, it is also quieter than any other airliner, meeting stringent noise restrictions at London Heathrow Airport. It has the quietest cabin in the skies, and pilots who have flown it enjoy its remarkable handling qualities.

To date, five aircraft have been involved in the intensive flight test programme, four of which are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. The aircraft have accumulated over 2,600 flight hours in 800 flights, and over 80 airline and certification pilots have flown the aircraft. During the flight test programme, the A380 was also welcomed at 38 airports around the world, proving its easy airport acceptance and compatibility.

Singapore Airlines is the launch customer of the Airbus A380. It has 19 aircraft on firm order, of which the first four are scheduled to be delivered from October 2007. Stay tuned as the airline looks forward to continuing its tradition of historical firsts when it becomes the first airline to fly this exceptional aircraft.


SINGAPORE Airlines, one of the launch customers for the Airbus A380 superjumbo, is considering cancelling part of its 19 aircraft order worth $5.2bn (£2.6bn, E3.9bn).

It would be the first passenger airline to cancel planes and be a significant blow to troubled Airbus after FedEx’s recent withdrawal of an order for 10 cargo aircraft.

Singapore’s “tolerance for delays” has “reached the limit”, according to those close to the situation. It has privately warned Airbus that further delay would force it to make further contingency plans, which would include altering the size of its order.

At a meeting of chief executives of airlines in the Star Alliance partnership in Istanbul last weekend, Singapore Airlines’ chief executive Chew Choon Seng, told The Business: “It is within our contract to cancel. We could make an additional order of Boeing 777-300ERs, which are a good alternative to the A380, but these would not come until 2009-10. So, much depends on whether the A380 is delayed further.

“We sent a technical audit team to Toulouse over the summer and the conclusion is that the technical quality is not in question; the problems are in co-ordination and sequencing.”

Chew is desperate for the extra capacity the A380 delivers – US rival Boeing’s 777-300E carries 150 fewer passengers than the Airbus. But a source familiar with the situation said: “There comes a point where, if you can’t build it and deliver it, then [even though] the technical capability may be brilliant, it is just no good to anyone.”

Singapore is due to take delivery of its first A380 next October, 18 months behind schedule. Because of this delay it has been forced to order 19 Boeing 777-300ERs and is seeking compensation from Airbus.

Airbus also missed out on an order from Air China because of the delays. Li Jiaxiang, its president, said: “If there had been no problems with the A380 and the price was reasonable then maybe we would have [ordered].

“We are expanding our fleet by 25% a year. We are interested in both the A380 and Boeing’s Dreamliner but want to wait and see what happens until after launch.”

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