Airbus to miss A380 target

An Airbus spokesman has confirmed wire service reports that Airbus will deliver 19 A380s this year, one short of its 20 aircraft target, in part due to issues with the Trent 900 engine following the QF32 uncontained engine failure.

The 19th aircraft to be delivered is Qantas’s seventh A380, VH-OQG Charles Ulm (MSN047), which is due to be delivered to Qantas in Sydney imminently. OQG was due to have been delivered earlier this month until it was discovered to be fitted with an early build standard (Mod A ) Trent 900 engine affected with the misaligned counter boring problem though to be the cause of the QF32 failure.