Production of the giant Airbus A380 has begun in Bremen, Germany, where work started last week on the fuselage of the first model that will come off the production line. To date, the superjumbo received 97 firm orders and commitments, including those from Emirates and Qatar Airways, and the aircraft is due to enter service in 2007.
The first A380 will be one of several test aircraft and will be jammed with equipment rather than seats and reception areas that will mark later production. The “first metal cut” in Airbus' Nantes site was carried out in France earlier this year. At Bremen, two formed sheet metal parts were completed for later integration into the section aft of the wings.
Airbus is a leading aircraft manufacturer. Its airliners range in capacity from 100 to more than 500 seats. Airbus has delivered over 2,800 aircraft to 180 customers worldwide and boasts an order book of more than 1,500 aircraft for delivery over the coming years.
With an annual turnover of €20.5 billion in 2001, Airbus is a global company with design and manufacturing facilities in France, Germany, the UK, and Spain as well as subsidiaries in the US, China and Japan. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is a joint EADS Company with BAE Systems. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
