Business News
Airbus plans to build 800 superjumbo A380 planes
Nov 26, 2010, 13:41 GMT
Berlin - Airbus defended Friday its superjumbo plane against doubters, with chief executive Thomas Enders telling a business meeting in Berlin the company plans to build 800 of the A380 jets over a period of half a century.
Lufthansa last month said the world's biggest plane is too small and called for a stretched version of the twin-deck aircraft.
Enders said the A380 had been developed for sale over 40 to 50 years and 'more than 700 or 800' would be sold in that timespan.
He was speaking at a conference organized by a German newspaper, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
The current version seats about 525 passengers, depending on customer choices. The A380 made its maiden flight in 2005 and went into service in October 2007. But an engine rupture this month has created doubts around the jet.
That incident, on a Qantas A380 on November 4, has been blamed on the engine, which was made by Rolls-Royce, not Airbus.
Read more about Business
Read more about Germany Aviation
