THE credibility of Airbus, Europe’s aircraft maker, was in tatters last night as investors wiped €5 billion off the value of its parent company after hearing that deliveries of the flagship A380 would be delayed.

Shares in EADS, which owns 80 per cent of Airbus, fell by up to a third in Paris and closed down 26 per cent after the company said that its earnings would be depressed by €2 billion (£1.37 billion) over four years. Noel Forgeard, co-chief executive of EADS, who until recently was chief executive of Airbus, told investors that he was “extremely sorry” for investors who had placed their confidence in EADS.

Several analysts downgraded EADS shares after the announcement, pointing out that the management had confirmed that they were happy with progress on the A380 a month earlier. Credit ratings agencies followed the market reaction by changing their outlook on EADS from stable to negative. “While we have some sympathy with Airbus for the sheer scale of the challenge, we believe it is difficult to justify warning so late of the problem or failing to anticipate the issue,” analysts at Goldman Sachs said.

Three of Airbus’s biggest lead customers — Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas — said that they were considering their positions and would be engaged in talks with the aircraft maker in the next few weeks. Emirates, which has orders for 45 aircraft, was said to be considering cancellations, while Malaysian Airlines was reconsidering its six aircraft.

Virgin Atlantic, the only British airline to have signed up to have the A380, said that it would be talking to Airbus in the next few days at a previously planned meeting, at which it would discuss the revised delivery schedule.

BAE Systems, the British defence company that has a 20 per cent share in Airbus, released a statement saying: “BAE Systems does not believe any credible or serious assessment of the likely financial impact of such delays can be made today.”

The British company announced that it wanted to sell its stake in Airbus in May and conspiracy theorists have suggested that the revelation of the A380 delay is just the latest instance of bad news that has been announced by Airbus since then, driving down the share price of EADS and consequently the proceeds BAE will receive from exercising its put option.

However, industry analysts and airlines speculated that Boeing, the US aircraft maker, would use this setback to regain pole position in the race for dominance of the aerospace market. “Those A380 customers that are also potential launch customers of the redesigned A350 could be reluctant to engage further with EADS, or only at deep discounts,” Olivier Esnou, analyst at Exane BNP Paribas in Paris, said.

Boeing shares climbed 5 per cent, boosted by news that Singapore Airlines had ordered 20

787 Dreamliners, worth $4.5 billion, and optioned 20 more. The deal between Singapore and Boeing was an extra blow for Airbus, which has worked closely with Singapore, its launch customer for the A380. But Singapore said that “this order is not related to the delay in the delivery of the A380s and the two matters are to be viewed separately."

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