NYTimes.com Article: Wider Fallout From Terminal's Collapse

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

 



The article below from NYTimes.com
has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx



/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\

THE CLEARING - IN THEATERS JULY 2 - WATCH THE TRAILER NOW

An official selection of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, THE CLEARING
stars ROBERT REDFORD and HELEN MIRREN as Wayne and Eileen Hayes - a
husband and wife living the American Dream. Together they've raised two
children and struggled to build a successful business from the ground
up. But there have been sacrifices along the way. When Wayne is
kidnapped by an ordinary man, Arnold Mack (WILLEM DAFOE), and held for
ransom in a remote forest, the couple's world is turned inside out.
Watch the trailer at: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/theclearing/index_nyt.html

\----------------------------------------------------------/


Wider Fallout From Terminal's Collapse

May 25, 2004
 By MARK LANDLER





FRANKFURT, May 24 - The deadly collapse of a passenger
terminal at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris on Sunday
is likely to cause wide ripples in French industrial
circles, perhaps even affecting the introduction of the
Airbus A380 jumbo jet, Europe's answer to the Boeing 747.

Air France, which has ordered 10 of the 555-seat planes,
had planned to use the building, Terminal 2E, and an
adjacent satellite terminal, which is still under
construction, to handle the A380.

But on Monday, a day after four people were killed by a
falling roof, the future of Terminal 2E looked grim.
Cracking noises, like the ones that preceded the collapse,
were heard elsewhere in the building, forcing inspectors to
flee, and raising the prospect that it will have to be
demolished.

Airbus said it was premature to say how the collapse would
affect the readiness of the airport to handle the A380. Air
France had already asked Airbus to delay its delivery of
the new planes to March 2007 from November 2006, so the
carrier could complete its facilities at Terminal 2E.

"I can't speculate whether they will tear down the
terminal," said Tore Prang, a spokesman for Airbus, which
is based in Toulouse and is controlled by a consortium of
European aerospace manufacturers. "We'll have to wait a
little bit until they have taken their final decision."

Air France insisted that even if Terminal 2E were leveled,
it would not delay its plans to begin flying the A380.

"Nobody could imagine that during this period of time,
repairs could not be made," the chief executive of Air
France, Jean-Cyril Spinetta, said in a statement.

Mr. Prang noted that other terminals at Charles de Gaulle
Airport would be able to accommodate the A380. And he said
the runways and taxiways would be ready by 2006, when the
plane goes into service.

The A380 is likely to face more twists between now and
then. On Monday, as Airbus executives assessed the
implications of the accident in Paris, the plane received a
vote of confidence in Germany.

The German carrier Lufthansa announced plans to raise 750
million euros ($895 million) in a rights offering to help
finance its purchase of the A380. Lufthansa ordered 15
planes in late 2001. At list prices, the order was worth
$3.6 billion, though Lufthansa, like most airlines,
received a discount.

"The A380 will give us a huge competitive advantage," the
chief executive of Lufthansa, Wolfgang Mayrhuber, said, in
announcing the rights offering in Frankfurt. "It will
revolutionize long-haul flights and accelerate changes in
the industry. We'll get a return on the investment."

All told, Airbus has booked 129 orders for the A380. Two
weeks ago, it unveiled the first plane at a ceremony in its
factory in Toulouse. But as the date for the inauguration
of commercial service draws closer, the issue of fitting
out airports to handle the plane has become sticky.

Airbus said that 14 airports were equipped to serve the
A380, but that most of them were in Asia, with none in the
United States. Virgin Atlantic Airlines said this month
that it would put off delivery of its A380's because of
delays in the preparation of Los Angeles International
Airport.

The airport said in a statement that it would be ready "to
accommodate the A380 with the highest standards of safety
when the first airline begins using the aircraft at LAX in
late 2006."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/25/business/worldbusiness/25airbus.html?ex=1086490405&ei=1&en=67bbfa344d202bd1


---------------------------------

Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:

http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF



HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters
or other creative advertising opportunities with The
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to
help@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

[Index of Archives]         [NTSB]     [NASA KSC]     [Yosemite]     [Steve's Art]     [Deep Creek Hot Springs]     [NTSB]     [STB]     [Share Photos]     [Yosemite Campsites]