Singapore Airlines Won't Extend Lease on First Airbus A380 Jet -- Update
September 14 2016 - 7:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Gaurav Raghuvanshi
Airbus Group SE's flagship jetliner, the A380 superjumbo, has
been dealt another setback as Singapore Airlines Ltd. decided not
to renew its lease on the first of the planes and suggested it may
walk away from more of the double-decker jets.
Singapore Airlines operates the world's second-largest fleet of
A380s and was the first to fly the plane when it took delivery of
the jet in October 2007. The lease on the first A380 expires in
October next year and "we have decided not to extend it," Singapore
Airlines told The Wall Street Journal.
The Singapore flag carrier currently operates 19 of the
double-decker jets. The first five were taken on a 10-year lease
deal with Airbus. "Decisions will be made on the four others
later," a Singapore Airlines spokesman said.
Singapore Airlines also has five of the jets on order. It is
sticking to plans to take delivery of those starting in the second
half of next year.
Initial production jets are generally less popular with airlines
as they are heavier and often come with teething problems as
manufacturers work out kinks. But Singapore Airlines' decision to
give up its lease will put at least one secondhand plane on the
market, potentially weakening already softened demand for new
A380s.
Brendan Sobie, an analyst at CAPA Center for Aviation, expects
Singapore Airlines to return all five of the early A380 jets in its
fleet. "Their fleet plan and strategy has always been to replace
those aircraft. Early model airplanes come with limitations and
Singapore Airlines never wanted to be stuck with remarketing these
five airplanes," Mr. Sobie said.
Airbus in July announced it would slash production of the A380
to 12 planes a year in 2018 from 27 last year. The backlog of A380s
to be delivered has eroded during years of no or few orders.
The A380's size has become its disadvantage as airlines prefer
relatively smaller planes such as the Airbus A350 and rival Boeing
Co.'s 787 Dreamliner that can fly nonstop to their ultimate
destinations, bypassing major hubs such as London and Singapore.
The demand for point-to-point connectivity has grown faster than
the traffic at major hub airports in recent years.
Airbus will again start losing money building A380 planes at the
lower production rate, the Toulouse, France-based plane maker has
said. It only last year delivered A380s that were no longer losing
money, a decade after the plane first flew. Airbus for years
struggled with development and production of the jetliner.
Bad news has continued to pile up for the A380. Airbus this year
announced that French carrier Air Austral had canceled an order for
two A380s, the latest in a raft of voided purchases of the plane.
Air France-KLM SA this year said it had dropped plans to take the
last two A380s it had ordered.
Previously, the India-based Kingfisher Airlines Ltd., founded by
Vijay Mallya, ordered the plane before the carrier controversially
folded in 2012. Russia's No. 2 carrier Transero also was a buyer
before it closed last year. Japan's Skymark Airlines Inc. had
ordered the A380 before the contract was voided over payment
issues.
There are also doubts about some A380s in the Airbus order
backlog. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., the British airline founded
by Richard Branson, has ordered six of the planes but has no plans
to introduce them into service. The carrier this year also
announced plans to buy Airbus's A350-1000 long-haul plane, a more
modern, twin-engine widebody. Ireland-based lessor Amedeo has
ordered 20 of the planes, but so far failed to place them with
airline customers.
The Singapore Airlines A380s are owned by German leasing company
Doric GmbH, which will need to find a customer for the returning
plane in the next 12 months. The leasing firm had no immediate
comment.
Airbus wouldn't comment on the Singapore Airlines decision,
saying it doesn't discuss individual airline fleet plans.
"We are confident in the market for secondhand A380s, which can
be leased or acquired at attractive rates. This will offer a great
opportunity for new entrants with new business models to start
operating the A380," a company spokesman said by email.
Despite years of trying, Airbus has struggled to win new orders
for the A380, which costs $432.6 million each at list price.
Airlines have shied away from the superjumbo jet that can seat more
than 600 people, worried about how to fill all its seats.
Malaysia Airlines has decided to replace its A380 jets with the
smaller A350 jets and is trying looking for customers to buy or
lease its six jets, the airline's chief Peter Bellew told The Wall
Street Journal in a recent interview.
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA chief executive
Willie Walsh this year said he would consider taking some used
A380s to augment the 12 now in service with British Airways. Mr.
Walsh has said taking secondhand planes would make more sense than
exercising more expensive options for new A380s.
The biggest success for the A380 is Emirates Airline, by far the
largest customer. The Dubai-based carrier, the world's largest by
international traffic, operates a fleet of more than 80 of the
four-engine planes and has placed orders for 142 of the jets.
The A380 program received a rare boost when Japan's All Nippon
Airways Co. in December ordered three of the planes. Iran Air also
has announced plans to take 12 of the Airbus flagship plane as part
of a $27 billion deal with the European plane maker. The deal
remains to be completed, absent U.S. export approvals and
financing.
Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at gaurav.raghuvanshi@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 14, 2016 07:14 ET (11:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Singapore Airlines (PK) (USOTC:SINGY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Singapore Airlines (PK) (USOTC:SINGY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024