European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said on July 16 it was on target to meet its goal of delivering at least 20 A380 superjumbo aircraft this year, having delivered 10 so far. Airbus delivered its ninth and 10th A38Os, one to Singapore Airlines and another to German carrier Lufthansa.
That indicates that "Airbus is on the right path to achieve its goal of at least 20 deliveries this year," the company said in a statement. Airbus delivered only 10 A380s last year compared with 12 in 2008. Development of the A380, the world's largest civilian airliner, has been plagued by manufacturing problems and a production cycle that has proved to be more complex and costly than had been foreseen. There are currently 33 A380s in service, operated by five different companies. Airbus said that to date it had received 234 orders for the aircraft from 17 clients.