Qantas’s
share price is low at the moment. It finished at $3.17
in yesterday’s rout and fell to as low at $3.13 last week, a 52 week
low. Analysts have been blaming the high fuel prices for much of the
investor unease, but there’s been another concern: the giant Airbus 380 which
was due to arrive next year.

Investors were becoming concerned that the
giant passenger jet might arrive with fuel prices still high and travellers unwilling to fly: a scenario that would be a bit
of a nightmare for the airline. Delivery is already expected to be six months late and now there’s news from France that
there could be a further six month delay as Airbus struggles to sort out
production problems. Airbus says wiring problems have forced it to cut delivery
targets to nine from an original target of 20-27 planes next year.
That
could cost Airbus $A1 billion a year in losses for each of the next three
years.

Airbus
says that the first A380 will be delivered to Singapore Airlines as
planned later this year but the problems would see delivery shortfalls of five
to nine aircraft in 2008 and five in 2009. The A380 has cost Airbus
billions of dollars to develop and still hasn’t made enough sales to guarantee
its future, another worrying point for some big investors in Qantas who
fear that the airline might be stuck with a very large, fuel-burning white
elephant.

Airbus has 159 firm orders for the plane from 16
carriers, including Emirates, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic: 250 orders is considered to be enough to guarantee the future of the
plane. It’s a
situation that will test the resolve of the Qantas board to continue with the
A380 or bite the bullet, forgo the deposits paid and look for a smaller, more fuel
efficient aircraft.