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Airbus announces further cut to A380 ‘superjumbo’ production

Production of the Airbus A380 superjumbo has been cut for the second time in a year.

Deliveries of the double-decker aircraft will now fall from 15 this year to 12 in 2018 and eight in 2019, the European manufacturer said.

Chief executive Tom Enders said that prospects of further sales of the A380 in the short-term were not “necessarily high”.

Airbus, which has not had an A380 order for two years, makes the wings at its factory at Broughton, north Wales.

The company said that production of the A380 continued to operate at a marginal loss.

Airbus last month unveiled an upgraded version of the world’s largest passenger aircraft, promising greater fuel efficiency and room for more seats. Airbus hopes it will be the catalyst for more orders from airlines.

Airbus posted second-quarter operating profits which fell 27% to €859 million on revenues of €15.27 billion.

Production at Airbus has been hit by delays in delivery of US engine-maker Pratt & Whitney’s engines for A320neo aircraft.

The fuel-saving Geared Turbofan engine has suffered reliability problems. On Thursday, Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said Pratt & Whitney had to “work harder” to fix the problems.

The fuel-saving engine has suffered reliability problems.

Enders said Pratt & Whitney had to “work harder” to fix the problems.

“It should be a winning engine but they need to fix it,” he said. “Pratt & Whitney has introduced some fixes but we are still waiting for these improvements to come through.”

Airbus was in “constructive talks” with Qatar Airways over a recent cancellation of four A350 aircraft, Enders said, adding, “I think we will find a way out” of the issue.

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