KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 – European aircraft maker Airbus has paid 30 million dollars to Malaysian Airlines as partial compensation for the late delivery of its A380 superjumbos, a report said Monday.
"Yes, we have paid Malaysian Airlines for the delay," the Malaysian Reserve newspaper quoted an unnamed Airbus official as saying.
The daily said the compensation will be reflected in the airline\’s first quarter results, due to be released later Monday.
Malaysia Airlines last month said Airbus had pushed back the delivery of its first A380 superjumbos for the second time.
The carrier had placed an order for six of the double-decker planes which were initially to be delivered from January 2007 but that was put back to late 2011.
Malaysian Airlines announced in December last year that it will buy up to 25 A330-300s wide-body aircraft worth five billion dollars to serve its growing markets. The aircraft have been slated for delivery from 2011 to 2016.
Malaysia Airlines returned to the black in the fourth quarter of 2009, with net profits of 610 million ringgit (179 million dollars) due to lower operation and fuel costs, as well as a rebound in its cargo business.
