Transaero likely to defer A380 deliveries - Airbus

Transaero Airlines will not likely take delivery of any of its four A380-800s on order from Airbus Industrie this year the president of the European manufacturer, Fabrice Brégier, has said.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal during the IATA AGM in Miami last week, Brégier said the carrier's difficult financial state may preclude it taking delivery of its first two twindeck aircraft - cn 196 and 212 - this year.

“We have to face reality; when we have a customer who is really facing commercial issues, hopefully temporarily, but based on the rouble devaluation and the Russia tourist market shrinking, we need to look at what can be done,” he said.

The president's comments contradicts claims made last month by the Governor of Primorsky Krai, Vladimir Miklushevskiy, who said the Russian Far East would be welcoming Transaero's A380s to Vladivostok later this autumn with the type to also be deployed on flights to New York JFK.

Russia's slowing economy has severely impacted Transaero - the country's second largest after Aeroflot - leading to it posting a net loss of RUB14.5 billion (USD255 million) for its 2014 Financial Year. In January, it secured a three-year RUB9 billion government-backed loan from VTB Bank to allow it to cope with what it termed “drastically changing macroeconomic conditions.”

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