Air France-KLM chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon has criticised both Airbus and Boeing for schedule slips in their flagship aircraft programmes.
Gourgeon, speaking to Flight International on board Air France's inaugural Airbus A380 service between Johannesburg and Paris in February, complained that the arrival of the carrier's second double-deck aircraft had been delayed for two months.
"We're waiting for the third," he adds. "The fourth will also be delayed."
He says Airbus, with the A380, and Boeing with its 787, had both been "a bit enthusiastic" about their capabilities and "inconsistent" with delivery schedules.
"Marketing people were selling schedules of delivery that were not [realistic] for the technicians," he says. "I hope they will come to more consistency in the future because it's truly a problem for customers."
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© Jon Ostrower/Flightglobal |