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Airbus stalls on jumbo
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May 19, 2000: 5:12 a.m. ET
Meeting to decide fate of giant A3XX jet postponed; demand in doubt
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LONDON (CNNfn) - European aircraft consortium Airbus Industrie said it postponed a board meeting later this month that would have decided whether to go ahead with plans to put development of its proposed A3XX super jumbo into full swing.
The meeting was scheduled for May 26 and was expected to officially approve the launch but the Financial Times said that meeting had been delayed because major airlines continued to doubt the commercial viability and demand for a double-decker, 550-seat aircraft. An Airbus spokesman declined to comment on the reasons for the delay.
 Reuters reported industry speculation that three of the four partners -- Aérospatiale Matra (PARO), DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and Spain's Casa -may be wary about committing to the project to build what would be the world's largest passenger aircraft, if questions about demand still exist. The three companies are in the process of merging to form the European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co. and aim to sell shares to the public this summer. The fourth Airbus partner is Britain's BAE Systems (BA-).
Dubai-based Emirates Airline announced May 1 that it planned to buy the A3XX to fly routes from its base to London, Singapore and Australia from 2005, and announced a $2.5 billion order for five planes. Singapore Airlines, Asia's most profitable airline, has expressed an interest in purchasing up to
16 super jumbos.
Still, major players in the industry, such as United Airlines, British Airways (BAY), and Deutsche Lufthansa (FLHA), are cautious about a plane that has almost 150 more seats than archrival Boeing's (BA: Research, Estimates) 747-400 jumbo jet.
The A3XX, which would cost about $12 billion to develop, would represent Airbus's attempt to break the monopoly in very large aircraft that Boeing has enjoyed for decades with the 747. 
--from staff and wire reports
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Airbus Industrie
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