SINGAPORE : Singapore Airlines may agree to delay flying the
Airbus A380 super jumbo between Sydney and Los Angeles, in return
for getting access to that lucrative trans-Pacific route.
SIA's chief executive Chew Choon Seng was quoted by Dow Jones
Newswires as saying that the airline would be willing to negotiate
on that issue.
He was in Sydney on Tuesday to unveil a scale model of the Airbus
A380, and to meet Australian aviation officials.
SIA is pressing for approval to fly passengers between Australia
and the US, a move that Qantas Airways strongly opposes.
The Singapore carrier hopes to get permission to fly directly to
the West Coast of the US from Australia within 12 to 18
months.
For a start, it is aiming to have a daily service.
SIA is set to be the first airline to fly the A380, and it plans to
use them on flights between Sydney, Singapore and London by
mid-2006.
Qantas has also placed an order for the A380, but it is not
expected to take delivery of its planes until late 2006. - CNA