DUBAI airline Emirates said yesterday it remains on schedule to get two more Airbus A380s by the end of the year following the delayed delivery of its second of the double-decker planes.
An Emirates representative said the airline still expects to receive a plane each in November and December. Another of the "superjumbo" planes is expected by the end of March 2009, the representative said.
Deliveries of the A380 have been slowed by technical setbacks, communication failures and other costly delays dating back to 2005.
The delays have forced customers to retool their schedules and balance sheet projections at a time when the airline industry has come under pressure from rapidly rising fuel costs and a slumping global economy.
Emirates said it received its second A380 on Friday.
The airline is carrying out inspections of the plane before adding it to its Dubai-New York route today.
The carrier, which is backed by the government of Dubai, had expected to receive its second A380 in September, but said last month that delivery would be "pushed back by a few weeks."
The airline has ordered a total of 58 A380s, making it the plane's biggest customer.
It took delivery of its first A380 in July.
Airbus has delivered nine A380s so far.
The company said last month it would meet its target of delivering 12 planes by year's end.