Etihad Airways confirmed on Wednesday it had cancelled an Airbus plane order but stressed this was related to an accident during ground testing in 2007 and not driven by any change of commercial strategy.
Airbus data released on Wednesday showed that the Abu Dhabi carrier had cancelled one of its eight outstanding orders for long-distance A340-600 jets worth USD$250 million each at list prices.
An Etihad spokesman said the cancelled order related to an aircraft which rammed into a concrete wall during engine testing at the planemaker’s Toulouse headquarters in November 2007, injuring 9 people including 4 seriously.
“Etihad has not deferred or cancelled any of its aircraft orders” other than the damaged A340, the spokesman said.
Among planes due to be delivered, Etihad has 10 Airbus A380s on order with deliveries due to start in 2012.
The June order cancellation means Airbus will not be obliged to rebuild the A340, which was damaged beyond repair.
The Etihad spokesman declined to discuss details of any compensation that may have been negotiated.
(Reuters)
By: steve rowell - 11th July 2009 at 04:47
‘Insurance’ …it’ll be a win win situation!!!
By: Arabella-Cox - 9th July 2009 at 08:13
Eh? I thought that accident was proven to be down to incompetence of the test pilots? Nothing wrong with the A340 as far as I’m aware. :confused:
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July 9, 2009 at 4:18 am