=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2007/02/23/financial/= f082054S33.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, February 23, 2007 (AP) UPS, Airbus Sign A380 Super-Jumbo Deal By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer (02-23) 08:20 PST ATLANTA, (AP) -- UPS Inc., the world's largest shipping carrier, said Friday it signed an agreement with Airbus changing delivery dates on the company's order for the delay-plagued A380 super-jumbo jet and allowing either party to terminate the purchase order later this year. UPS ordered its first 10 A380F jets in January 2005 for use on U.S.-Asia routes. The deal included an option to buy 10 more planes. Deliveries originally were to begin in 2009 and run through 2012. Both UPS and Airbus officials declined Friday to disclose the new delive= ry dates. The agreement was signed Thursday, UPS said. UPS spokesman Norman Black also declined to say whether the new agreement included price concessions from Toulouse, France-based Airbus. Airbus spokeswoman Barbara Kracht confirmed a new agreement had been reached but declined to comment further. Black also declined to reveal the financial terms of the original deal. The A380 sells for as much as $280 million at retail prices but large airline customers typically negotiate steep discounts. UPS originally picked the A380 because "there's no other airplane like this," Black said during the company's 2005 purchase announcement. But the A380 program has had a two-year delay in delivering the new plan= es to customers. John Leahy, Airbus' chief operating officer for customers, said Feb. 7 that technical problems responsible for the delays appeared to have been resolved. Airbus has suffered from costly production setbacks and this week delayed an expected announcement of its restructuring plan that was expected to involve extensive job cuts. German and French leaders sought Friday to defuse tensions over the politically fraught restructuring drive, stressing their common interest in a fair sharing of the resulting cutbacks and opportunities. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac said in a joint statement after meeting outside Berlin that they "stand behind Airbus" as the European planemaker puts together its delayed program. The delays prompted UPS rival FedEx Corp. in November to cancel its order of 10 A380 planes and instead order 15 Boeing 777 freighters with an option for 15 more of the U.S.-made jets. UPS originally said it wanted the new jets to expand the capacity of its air network to accommodate strong international growth. Black said Friday that UPS wanted to have a larger aircraft to take advantage of the company's existing high-demand routes between the United States and Asia. UPS has been "carefully evaluating various options since Airbus announced production delays late last year," Bob Lekites, UPS vice president of airline and international operations, said in a statement. In the meantime, UPS will rely on previous orders for new MD-11 and Boei= ng 747 freighters to fly the high-demand routes the A380s eventually will be used for, Black said. ____ Associated Press writer Laurence Frost in Paris contributed to this stor= y. ___ On the Net: UPS Inc.: Airbus: www.ups.com www.airbus.com ---------------------------------------------------------= ------------- Copyright 2007 AP