Airbus A380 tour update

At the request of Rolls-Royce, as a precautionary measure, two Trent 900 engines are being replaced on A380 number One. This follows a thorough review by the engine manufacturer of an earlier engine change, and leads to a slight shift in the A380 tour to Asia and Australia. The A380 is now due to arrive in Singapore on Friday 11th November, instead of Tuesday 8th. The subsequent tour to Australia remains unchanged. The aircraft will then visit Kuala Lumpur on Thursday 17th November.

The first A380 made its first flight on 27th April and the second on 18th October. In total, both aircraft have satisfactorily performed some 440 flight hours in over 120 flights. The third A380, MSN 2, had a successful maiden flight yesterday, 3rd November and joins the flight test programme. Flight tests of the A380 are progressing without any major issues being discovered. Certification is planned for the last quarter of 2006 in time for first delivery to the first operator Singapore Airlines before the end of the year.

Airbus is an EADS joint company with BAE Systems.