In commercial service for nearly nine months now, the Airbus A380 has proven itself perfectly capable of doing what its developers intended it to do–fly lots of passengers comfortably and efficiently. But for EADS and Airbus, moving into full production on time and on budget hasn’t proven so straightforward, and warnings from EADS chief executive Louis Gallois of further “risks” have served to only raise more questions about the true state of affairs within the program.
The latest delay for the A380–the fourth such hiccup since the project launched– boils down not to any particular technical problem or failure of suppliers, but rather a shortage of properly trained engineers to achieve the steep production ramp-up Airbus planned in 2006, according to Airbus CEO Tom Enders. “It’s frustratingly simple,” he said during a pre-Farnborough show media briefing. “Overall, we needed more time and resources than expected and although we initially thought this could be resolved through increased manpower and outsourcing, we have been hit by an industry-wide shortage of skilled labor, making it impossible to complete the work to the standards required.”
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