Some €600 million in German taxpayers' money could be at risk after Airbus stops production of its superjumbo, a report says. The government is said to be looking at possible restitution claims.
Image: Airbus
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European aerospace corporation Airbus has repaid only a third of a €942-million ($1.07-billion) loan received from Germany for developing its A380 superjumbo.
This means some €600 million of taxpayers' money might go up in smoke now production of the A380 is to cease, newspapers reported on Monday.
A spokeswoman from the Economy Ministry cited by newspapers of the Funke media group said that the consequences of Airbus' decision were being analyzed and discussed with the corporation. She said no information could be given about any claims for restitution at this stage.
When Airbus delivered the first A380 aircraft on October 15, 2007, it was seen as a breakthrough for the industry. Now, as the giant aircraft fail to sell, Airbus has announced it will stop producing the A380.
Image: Master Films/P. Pigeyre
Giant of the skies
When the A380 was introduced, it put almost every other competitor on the airfield in the shadows — literally. With a length of 72.7 meters (238 feet) the plane has a wingspan of 79.8 meters and is over 24 meters tall.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Matthews
First purchase
Singapore Airlines was the first airline to deploy the A380. Here the proud new owners are shown on the tarmac in Toulouse — gathered together to document the great day. Back then on October 15, 2007, the future of passenger flying was still seen in terms of size: The more passengers transported at once, the more profit for the airline.
Image: Airbus
850-passenger capacity
The superjumbo can carry more than 500 passengers in a three-class configuration, which is an increase of more than 100 passengers over its rival, Boeing's 747. Airbus' new aircraft boasts two passenger decks and first-class suites with proper beds. In an all-economy configuration, the plane could carry more than 850 passengers.
Image: AP
Luxury flight
The A380 was hailed for its roominess, large windows, high ceilings and quieter engines. Some carriers put in showers, lounges, duty free shops and bars on both decks, and passengers could choose to fly in their own private suite.
Image: Emirates Airline
Cracks start to show
In 2011 and 2012 a number of technical problems with the A380 were reported. Qantas, Emirates and Singapore Airlines all reported A380 flights that had to make emergency landings due to engine issues. In January 2012, Qantas and Singapore Airlines found cracks in the wings of their A380s. Investigations found they were caused by material and manufacturing problems and it cost €263 million to fix.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Blumberg
Failing to sell seats
Sadly, the A380's major selling point turned out to be its biggest downfall, with airlines saying they were unable to make the flight profitable if they did not sell every seat on the plane. "It's an aircraft that frightens airline CFOs; the risk of failing to sell so many seats is just too high," one aerospace industry source said.
Image: picture-alliance/ dpa
Orders cancelled
In January and February 2019, both loyal customer Emirates and Australian airline Qantas cancelled orders for the A380. Emirates instead decided to order some smaller planes from Airbus while Qantas withdrew its order for the purchase of eight A380s.
Image: picture-alliance /M. Mainka
Into the distance
After struggling to sell the giant planes, European plane manufacturer Airbus announced it would stop making its superjumbo A380 in 2021 due to lack of customers, bringing the life of the world's biggest passenger jet and one of the aviation industry's most ambitious and most troubled endeavors to an end.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Faerberg
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Gradual repayments
Up to now, repayments of the loan for the A380 have been coupled with deliveries of the aircraft, so that lenders received a certain sum for each plane handed over to a customer.
However, because Airbus intends to build and deliver only 17 more A380s up to 2021 before stopping production, it is unclear how and if it will make repayments and to what extent it has to.
The Franco-German aviation giant announced almost three weeks ago that it would be ending production of the plane because it was struggling to sell it.
Airbus had originally hoped the double-decker passenger jet would challenge Boeing's 747.
Germany, France and Spain were the main financial backers of the A380 project.
Some 3,500 jobs in France and Germany could be at risk when A380 production stops.
