British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways still isn't sure whether it will ever fly the world's largest passenger plane as it prepares for delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
''We have options for six A380s,'' from Airbus, Virgin Atlantic chief executive Craig Kreeger said. ''We have deferred those a number of times and we haven't yet decided what we will do when time comes for a terminate-the-batch decision.''
Virgin last deferred options for the superjumbo in July, pushing potential delivery to 2018, after being among the first to order the double-decker plane from Airbus in 2000.
Virgin Group has majority control of the British airline and a 10 per cent stake in Virgin Australia.
Virgin Atlantic is expecting delivery of its first 787 from Boeing in September, and plans to welcome passengers aboard starting in November.
The British airline's hesitance mirrors reluctance by other carriers that have deferred or reduced orders for the A380, which is marketed as easily accommodating 525 people. Air France-KLM, Europe's largest airline, may drop the final two of 12 planes ordered, and Lufthansa last year cancelled orders for three.
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