The grounding of an Emirates Airline A380 in Seoul on Sunday is a reminder that the carrier and other operators of the superjumbo are "guinea pigs" for the Airbus aeroplane, an analyst says.
The grounding of the flight was the latest in a series of similar problems over the past two years.
Last year, the airline produced a 46-page report for officials at the Toulouse-based airframe manufacturer, detailing breakdowns that grounded the first four A380 aircraft in the Emirates fleet for 500 hours in the first 18 months of operation.
On Sunday, Emirates sent a team of engineers with spare parts from Dubai to Seoul after a preliminary investigation was unable to resolve the unspecified technical problems. A local spokesman for Emirates in Seoul reportedly said the problems involved the fuel system.
Emirates stands by the plane, calling it an "excellent aircraft" that garners "very positive" feedback from customers, a spokeswoman said.
But the Dubai-based airline and the other A380 customers - Air France, Qantas and Singapore Airlines - have experienced more teething problems than expected for a new aircraft, analysts say.
"There seems to be more bad news for Airbus on the A380 every few days," said Doug McVitie, the chief consultant at Arran Aerospace, based in Pluduno, France. He blamed the problems on the fact that the planes were being hand-built at low production rates. "Each aircraft is individual and different, so they have not got up over the learning curve," he said.
Airbus was unavailable for comment yesterday.
All new aircraft programmes suffered from early glitches, Mr McVitie said, pointing to the now successful Boeing 777 as an example. But with nearly five years under its belt since the first test flight of the A380, Airbus should have resolved many of these already, he said.
"These things need to be worked out during flight test and before delivery. Instead, airlines are acting as guinea pigs. It is costing them a fortune and they will be asking for money back from Airbus," he said.
Emirates, the largest customer of the A380 aircraft from Airbus with 58 A380s on order at a value of more than US$17 billion (Dh62.39bn) at list prices, flies the aeroplanes to Toronto, Seoul, Sydney, Auckland, London and Bangkok, with plans that include Jeddah and Paris.
Emirates apologised for the inconvenience caused to the more than 400 passengers on Sunday's cancelled flight from Incheon International Airport. They were put up at local hotels and were to fly out yesterday after a 19-hour delay.
@Email:igale@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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SPECS
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
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Results
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix - 3:45:47
2. David Dekker (NED) Jumbo-Visma - same time
3. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
4. Emils Liepins (LAT) Trek-Segafredo
5. Elia Viviani (ITA) Cofidis
6. Tadej Pogacar (SLO UAE Team Emirates
7. Anthony Roux (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
8. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:00:03
9. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep
10. Fausto Masnada (ITA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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On sale: Now
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
