Airbus A380 Superjumbo Lands in Singapore on First Leg of Asian Test Flights

Nov. 14, 2006
The plane flies Wednesday morning to Seoul, South Korea, before returning to France.

The Airbus A380 arrived Tuesday in Singapore, the first Asian stop in final test flights intended lead to the superjumbo's air-worthiness certification by the end of the year.

The plane, carrying representatives of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency, landed about 12 hours after departing from Toulouse, France. It flies Wednesday morning to Seoul, South Korea, before returning to France.

The four last trips in the test flight schedule, ending Nov. 30, are designed to put the 555-seater A380 through 150 hours of flights under the kind of operating conditions it will experience with airlines.

The superjumbo, which takes off again Friday for Hong Kong and Narita, Japan, is on track for certification by mid-December, Airbus spokeswoman Maggie Bergsma said.

Singapore Airlines will be the first carrier to fly the superjumbo after it receives its first plane in October 2007 - a year later than originally planned. Other A380 deliveries have also been delayed, some by two years.

Airbus and its parent company European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. have blamed wiring problems for the holdups, which are set to wipe 4.8 billion euros ($6.2 billion) off profit over the next four years, and are complicating plans for a still-unlaunched mid-size jet to compete with Boeing Co.'s 787.

Airbus separately announced orders for eight single-aisle A320 jets on Monday, from Pakistani airline Airblue and Kuwaiti leasing company ALAFCO.

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