Singapore Airlines said the introduction of its 12th Airbus SAS A380 has been delayed after Koito Industries Ltd. failed to deliver business-class seats on time.
The plane had been due for delivery this quarter and "has been delayed as a result of the issues that Koito has faced," Nicholas Ionides, a spokesman for the carrier, said in an e-mail reply. He said the delay isn't affecting the airline's current operations and he expects the plane to arrive before the end of March.
The postponement is the second time Singapore Air has pushed back introduction of an A380 because of late Koito seat deliveries.
All Nippon Airways, Continental Airlines and Thai Airways International have also suffered delays after Koito in February admitted it falsified test results and made unauthorized design changes to its seats for at least a decade.
"We are working closely with Airbus, Koito and the relevant regulatory authorities and expect the issues to be resolved soon," Ionides said in the e-mail.
Koito Industries spokesman Hidetsugu Matsudaira had no comment on the Singapore Air statement.
The carrier received its 11th superjumbo in July, six months late because of the seat glitch. The airline plans to operate its 12th A380 between Singapore and Los Angeles via Narita International, Ionides said Friday. The aircraft will replace the Boeing 747-400 used on the route.
Koito said in April it would stop taking orders for plane seats for as long as three years to focus on maintenance, including checking about 1,000 commercial planes in which its seats are installed.