法国《观点报》7月28日援引法新社报道称，根据法国《回声报》消息，欧洲空中客车公司日前取消了与日本客户天马航空公司高达22.5亿美元(约合人民币139.1亿元)的订单。该日本公司目前面临财政困难。据悉，天马航空是空客史上第一位日本客户。
《回声报》指出，订单涉及6架A380客机。空客公司做出该决定源于对日本廉价航空天马航空公司当前战略心存疑虑以及对后者财政状况的考虑。2013年，日本天马航空公司出现了近5年来的首次亏损，亏损金额达18.5亿日元(约合人民币1.12亿元)，并被其竞争对手赶超，这也影响了该公司的国际化与本土化战略。
《回声报》还指出，天马航空无法按期向空客支付合同规定的款项。据悉，空客公司已按照订单建造2架飞机，飞机本应在上季度交付使用。《回声报》表示，日本天马航空公司将面临“巨额赔款”。
Airbus Group said Tuesday that it canceled an order from Japan’s Skymark Airlines for six A380 superjumbo jets, the latest sign of the European plane maker’s struggles to gain wide acceptance of the plane.
Airbus has been slow to win orders for the A380, the world’s largest passenger plane. Kingfisher Airlines and Hong Kong Airways are among carriers that have canceled their commitments, while Qantas Airways Ltd. and Air France have deferred delivery of some planes.
The 2011 deal with Skymark was a breakthrough for Airbus, which has pushed to win orders for big planes in the Japanese market, long dominated by rival Boeing Co.
“Airbus terminated the contract when Skymark made it clear that it was not going to perform its contractual obligations,” an Airbus representative said in an email.
Skymark, a budget carrier that turned in a loss for its latest financial year, said it wanted to cancel the order due to tougher competition and a weaker yen. It said Airbus had demanded as a condition for canceling the order that it join a bigger airline group.
“We cannot accept a demand that would shake management independence,” Skymark said in a statement, adding that the company has been able to offer lower prices precisely because it is independent.
Skymark also accused Airbus of demanding “exorbitant” cancellation fees.
Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath denied that Airbus has made any demands about Skymark’s future business structure. The plane maker said it “is reserving all its rights and remedies,” without elaborating.
The Skymark deal had a list price of $1.7 billion when it was signed, though carriers typically get large discounts. Two of the aircraft, which retail for $414.4 million apiece, have already been assembled and were due to be delivered this year.
Airbus is looking for another customer for the two aircraft, said Mr. Schaffrath. Finding a buyer could be a challenge. The planes’ interiors are typically designed for individual airlines. Skymark was going to seat fewer than 400 passengers on its planes.
The budget carrier was due to begin flying its first A380 planes around the end of this year, but delivery was pushed back by as many as six months because of problems fitting the interiors.
Airbus made further progress in cracking the Japanese market last year, when Japan Airlines placed an order for 31 A350 widebody jets.
Japan Airlines, though, isn’t interested in taking any A380 jets, JAL Executive Officer Hiroyuki Hioka said, without commenting directly on Skymark’s situation. “Considering the size of our businesses, we currently don’t see the need to purchase A380s,” he said.
Airbus has secured 318 orders for the A380 from 19 customers, delivering 135 jets as of the end of June. Planes delivered so far have been unprofitable, though Airbus hopes to break even on A380 shipments from next year. That would require about 30 A380 deliveries each year. Airbus still needs to book further orders to secure that production rate from 2016.