The late delivery of new Airbus A380s has forced Emirates Airline to push back by two months work to fix potential wing cracks on its existing fleet of superjumbos.
Wing modification work on Emirates' fleet of A380s should have started in March, but has only begun this month because of late arrival of new aircraft, according to Tim Clark, the president and chief executive of Emirates. "We need to receive the new aircraft to backfill the fleet and maintain the route network when we release [our existing] A380s for modification," Mr Clark told the leading aviation journal, Flight International. "There's been quite a long delay driven by the lateness of delivery of the new aircraft."
Mr Clark was speaking as Emirates received its 32nd A380 almost six weeks late. Three more are in the delivery process in Toulouse.
The European Aviation Safety Agency had ordered modifications to the A380 wings after cracks on some of the airliners in service were discovered 18 months ago.
The cracks, which did not directly affect the airworthiness of the airliner, were on brackets that attach the A380's wing ribs - the frames that run along the width of the wing - to the wing's metal skin. The cracks were caused by stresses generated during manufacturing and exacerbated by the flexing of the wings during flight.
All 100 A380s in service are affected by the order. At the end of last year Airbus stated that modification work on A380s already on the production line was likely to affect the smooth performance of its delivery target of 30 A380s a year. It said it had already taken a €200 million (Dh942.7m) hit from costs related to repairing cracks and at the end of last month, the company had an order backlog of 151 A380s to deliver.
In total, 34 Emirates' A380s will undergo the repairs over the next 18 months, four aircraft at a time. The wing modification involves the replacement of some of the aircraft's composite structure with metal parts, which will make the aircraft heavier and add to its fuel consumption.
The work was due to take about 20 months and be completed by November next year. Although the programme has started two months late, Mr Clark said that target was still achievable.
"We estimated the downtime is eight weeks, but Airbus hopes it will be able to do it in six. So Airbus is relatively optimistic that it can recapture the timeline after this delay at the front end, by shrinking the time it takes to do the job," he said.
"It's not our responsibility. Airbus takes the aircraft, modifies, certifies them and brings them back to us," Mr Clark added.
Last week EADS, Airbus's parent company said profits nearly doubled on a 9 per cent rise in revenue in the first quarter on strong demand and higher prices for commercial jets. So far this year, the company has booked no new orders for the aircraft.
[ dblack@thenational.ae ]
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices
Key Points
- Protests against President Omar Al Bashir enter their sixth day
- Reports of President Bashir's resignation and arrests of senior government officials
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Inside Out 2
Director: Kelsey Mann
Starring: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri
Rating: 4.5/5
CRICKET WORLD CUP LEAGUE 2
Mannofield, Aberdeen
All matches start at 2pm UAE time and will be broadcast on icc.tv
UAE fixtures
Wednesday, Aug 10 – Scotland v UAE
Thursday, Aug 11 - UAE v United States
Saturday, Aug 14 – Scotland v UAE
Monday, Aug 15 – UAE v United States
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Vriitya Aravind, CP Rizwan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan Sharafu
Table (top three teams advance directly to the 2023 World Cup Qualifier)
1. Oman 36 21 13 1 1 44
2. Scotland 24 16 6 0 2 34
3. UAE 22 12 8 1 1 26
--
4. Namibia 18 9 9 0 0 18
5. United States 24 11 12 1 0 23
6. Nepal 20 8 11 1 0 17
7. Papua New Guinea 20 1 19 0 0 2
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
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Transmission: 6-speed auto
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The Specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 118hp
Torque: 149Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Price: From Dh61,500
On sale: Now
The National selections
Al Ain
5pm: Bolereau
5.30pm: Rich And Famous
6pm: Duc De Faust
6.30pm: Al Thoura
7pm: AF Arrab
7.30pm: Al Jazi
8pm: Futoon
Jebel Ali
1.45pm: AF Kal Noor
2.15pm: Galaxy Road
2.45pm: Dark Thunder
3.15pm: Inverleigh
3.45pm: Bawaasil
4.15pm: Initial
4.45pm: Tafaakhor
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
TO CATCH A KILLER
Director: Damian Szifron
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Ralph Ineson
Rating: 2/5
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
Company profile
Name: Tabby
Founded: August 2019; platform went live in February 2020
Founder/CEO: Hosam Arab, co-founder: Daniil Barkalov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Payments
Size: 40-50 employees
Stage: Series A
Investors: Arbor Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Wamda Capital, STV, Raed Ventures, Global Founders Capital, JIMCO, Global Ventures, Venture Souq, Outliers VC, MSA Capital, HOF and AB Accelerator.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends