British Airways Defers A380 Deliveries
British Airways has delayed delivery of its first six Airbus A380s by an average of five months and the remaining six by an average of two years, the airli

British Airways has delayed delivery of its first six Airbus A380s by an average of five months and the remaining six by an average of two years, the airline confirmed in a July 3 traffic release. Although it still expects first delivery of the big jets in 2012, under the terms of the new schedule the last airplane would not arrive until 2016.

The airline cited “very challenging” market conditions “with trading at levels well below last year.” Although over the past three months traffic volume and load factors have stabilized, the airline now plans to cut capacity for the current summer period (April to October) by 3.5 percent, compared with a previously planned 2.5 percent, and reduce its number of seat miles this winter by 5 percent, compared with a previously announced 4 percent.