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Airbus launches its fight back Airbus launches A380 fightback
(30 minutes later)
Airbus is taking the world's media for a flight in its new A380 superjumbo as it fights back against bad publicity. A top Airbus executive has said the planemaker has overcome its woes and expects to sell at least another 20 of its A380 superjumbos in 2007.
The plane maker announced in January that it had fixed the wiring problems that had been causing delays for the world's biggest passenger plane. Chief operating officer for customers, John Leahy, said the firm was "back on track" after a spate of problems.
It says that it is now on schedule to deliver the first A380s to Singapore Airlines in October this year. He was speaking as Airbus took media for a flight in the plane as part of a fightback against bad publicity.
There has been a dip in orders for the plane, which faces strong competition from a new version of the Boeing 747. Meanwhile, Airbus boss Louis Gallois hinted that factories would close if new business partners weren't found.
Last month, Airbus revealed it had fallen behind its US rival in securing orders for the first time since 2000. Restructuring
Delays to the A380 have already cost Airbus more than $6bn (£3.3bn) and led to a shake-up in the management team. In an interview in Germany's Die Welt newspaper, Mr Gallois said that the company would have to look for partners if it is to continue operating all of its existing plants.
The flight - the first carrying passengers who are not Airbus staff or their families - will take off from Toulouse, fly over the Atlantic before landing again in the French city. "We have excellent sites in Germany, France, Britain and Spain (but) we cannot afford in the long run to invest on our own all that is needed to maintain each site" he said.
The planemaker is due to unveil its Power8 cost-cutting plan on 20 February, with speculation that there will be job losses across Europe.
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There has been particular concern among German unions that the restructuring plans may hit some of the 23,000 full-time and 6,300 part-time staff that Airbus employs at seven sites in Germany.
At the weekend, the German economy minister Michael Glos appeared to threaten that his government would reconsider its defence contracts with Airbus' parent company EADS if the review hits German workers more than French ones.
Airbus hit back, saying that a cancellation of German defence orders would cost even more German jobs.
We'll get the job done and get these airplanes out the door John LeahyAirbus
Warned
Delays caused largely by wiring in the plane, have already cost the firm more than $6bn (£3.3bn) and Airbus has warned there could be additional charges to come.
The first A380s will not be delivered until late this year - two years behind schedule.
Airbus currently has orders for 159 of the superjumbo but Virgin Atlantic has deferred its order for four years to 2013, while Emirates has warned that it might cancel some of its order for 43 planes.
However Mr Leahy told CNBC Europe that the technical problems now appeared to have been resolved.
"We're back on track. ... We'll get the job done and get these airplanes out the door," he said.
His prediction of orders for 20 A380s this year would be more than the 17 received in 2006, and equal to those taken in 2005.
The media flight will see reporters taken from Airbus' Toulouse headquarters in Southern France for a flight over the Atlantic.
It will be the first time that the A380 has carried passengers who are not Airbus staff or customers.