First Flight of Airbus A380 Seen in Second Half of April

The first flight of the Airbus A380 Super Jumbo is likely to take place in the second half of April, a spokeswoman for Europe´s commercial aircraft company said Monday.

The Airbus official was commenting on a report in the German press Monday that the maiden flight will be delayed by a few weeks.

"A day or two –or even a week or two- doesn´t make much difference," since the A380 will be in production for several decades, the Airbus spokeswoman said. "The essential thing is to get it right," she said.

Rainer Hertrich, co-chairman of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., Airbus´s parent company, said at the beginning of March the first flight could take place at the beginning of April. Airbus´s Chief Marketing Officer John Leahy also said last month the first test flight could take place in the first two weeks of April.

According to recent press reports, the A380´s first flight may be having difficulties with its landing gear. These reports have been denied by the aircraft builder.

Static ground tests on the first of the double-decker aircraft have been progressing for weeks now at Airbus´ headquarters at Toulouse, in southwest France. Acceleration and braking tests will take place in the weeks prior to its first takeoff.

Airbus is 80% controlled by EADS and 20 percent by BAE Systems PLC of the U.K.