Airbus says A380 deliveries on target

Aviation

Airbus said Monday it's sticking with a target of delivering 12 A380 superjumbo aircraft this year even after the handover of one of the planes to Gulf carrier Emirates was delayed.

Emirates' second A380 will arrive a few weeks late, the Dubai-based airline said Monday, confirming a report in Flight International magazine. The handover had been scheduled for October and the company didn't give a new date.

"We remain with our objective to deliver 12 aircraft this year," said Airbus spokeswoman Maggie Bergsma from Airbus' Toulouse, France, headquarters. "We're always in close contact with customers to anticipate when they want the aircraft and what's the best date but those discussions are confidential."

Emirates took delivery of its first A380 in July and is using the plane to serve New York. Airbus has delivered five A380s this year, the other four to Singapore Airlines. It's scheduled to deliver another to Singapore this month and the first to Qantas Airways on Sept. 19. Including the delayed Emirates plane, that would leave four more due this year.

Telecommunications

Alcatel-Lucent picks CEO, chair

Alcatel-Lucent selected Frenchman Philippe Camus, a former aerospace executive, as the new chairman of the company, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.

The telecommunications company also chose Ben Verwaayen, the former head of BT Group, as its new chief executive, the newspaper said in a report published Monday on its Web site.

Alcatel could announce the appointments as soon as this morning, the newspaper said.

A spokeswoman for Alcatel had no comment, the Journal reported.

Investment

Deloitte adds Middle East arm

The financial-services firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu said Monday it is setting up a corporate-finance arm in the Middle East as it seeks to capitalize on the region's investment boom.

The new company is being established as a joint venture between the New York-based company's existing United Kingdom and Middle East divisions. It will initially focus on services related to mergers and acquisitions.

Deloitte predicts the value of Middle Eastern private equity deals alone will top $670 billion over the next decade.

Compiled from Bloomberg News and The Associated Press