Singapore Airlines, the launch client for the A380, could suffer opportunity costs in terms of revenue if a reported six-month delay in the delivery of the superjumbo is confirmed. “The consequence of the A380 delay is the inability to grow capacity on the flights where we would like to replace 747-400s with the larger A380s,” the The Business Times cited SIA spokesman Stephen Foreshaw as saying.

“It would mean a delay in capacity increase, rather than a decrease in the number of flights we already have,” Foreshaw said.

Emirates Airlines said it is also “reviewing all options,”  the airline’s chief executive, Tim Clark told the Wall Street Journal’s Europe edition.

SIA ordered 19 A380s from Airbus, and had been expecting to receive the first by December this year. Emirates Airlines has ordered 43 planes and is the superjumbo’s biggest customer, ts order has been setback ten months.

Various media reports Monday said the board of directors of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, the parent of Airbus, is expected to meet Tuesday to discuss the delays facing the A380 jumbo jetliner.

If confirmed, this would be the third delay in the delivery of the aircraft to various customers, including SIA, Emirates Airlines and Qantas Airways.

Clark told the WSJ he believes “Airbus has deep rooted structural problems, both organizationally and at the shop floor/factory level.” He said the problems must “be resolved immediately and could entail knocking the organization down” and designing work practices from scratch.

The job “will need a strong leader without the political interference that has so plagued” Airbus and EADS over recent years, he said.
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