A380 fix will cost Airbus $200m

[Rob]

A380 fix will cost Airbus $200m

THE wing cracks first uncovered in a Qantas A380 under repair in
Singapore have cost manufacturer Airbus more than $200m.

Yesterday Airbus's parent company, EADS, revealed it would take a
first-quarter E158m ($202m) one-off charge as a result of the cracks in
wing rib-feet -- brackets that connect the skin of the wing to
structural components -- across the global A380 fleet.

The saga was sparked by the discovery in late December of type-one
hairline cracks in the Nancy-Bird Walton, the Qantas aircraft that was
repaired in Singapore after 2010's dramatic engine explosion.

The subsequent discovery of type-two cracks prompted the European
Aviation Safety Agency to issue an airworthiness directive requiring all
operational A380s be checked before reaching 1300 landing and take-off
cycles.

Qantas has found both the less serious type-one cracks and the more
problematic type-two cracks on its planes. But there are 2000 rib feet
in each wing and the airline, Airbus and air safety authorities have
said the cracks are not a safety problem.

Airbus says it will pay to fix the problem but not compensate airlines
for taking planes out of service.

Yesterday it said it had now defined a permanent solution for the wing
bracket and was collaborating closely with A380 operators to respond to
their operational needs.

It said the retrofit was more complicated than expected and this had led
to the first-quarter charge. A final fix in the production process would
generate a headwind for earnings improvements in 2012 and 2013, but it
was still targeting 30 A380 deliveries this year.

[Tudor5]

wonder what that will work out in Dracma's ?

[Rob]

Who knows, its a two way bet.

Any rational Greek would spend their bank-based drachmas in preference
to any euros they may have, as the longer-term value of the drachma
would be more uncertain than the euro, even after the drachma had found
its new level.