By Del Quentin Wilber

Airlines hoping to begin flying the world's largest passenger aircraft will have to wait at least another year after the plane's European maker announced yesterday a third major delay in delivering the super-jumbo jet.

Airbus SAS and its parent company said the first A380 would be delivered in October 2007 and 82 more through 2010. The slower delivery will cost Airbus and its parent company, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., about $3.6 billion.

Executives blamed the delays on complicated wiring problems. The plane has more than 300 miles of wires coursing through its two-deck fuselage and wings.

"There is no miracle solution," Airbus chief executive Christian Streiff said during a telephone conference with reporters and analysts. "Our problem is not going to be solved overnight."

Streiff said engineers were fixing the problems and that new production measures would largely put the wiring issues behind them in three years. Airbus has taken 159 orders for the A380, which has a list price of nearly $300 million.

Outside analysts and industry leaders said the delay would not kill Airbus but could affect other projects as it funnels cash and resources to the troubled program. Other analysts said they worried that the delays on such an important project might be a sign of deeper problems at Airbus.

"This program is barely holding together," said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst who tracks the aviation industry for Teal Group. "This ratchets up the risk for Airbus. So much of Airbus's future is riding on this plane. . . . This is a potential heart attack moment."

Yesterday's announcement was just the most recent in a series of highly publicized setbacks that have dogged Airbus. After years of leading the commercial airplane market in orders, Airbus appears to be slipping to rival Boeing Co., the U.S.-based aerospace giant and the world's only other manufacturer of large airliners.

The company's top executive was ousted and replaced by Streiff a few months ago. And the company was forced to change its plans for a wide-body jet to compete with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, and the plane is still in production. The Dreamliner, which Boeing officials say will be more fuel-efficient than existing aircraft, has sold briskly.

The revised Airbus plane, known as the A350 XWB, was introduced at an air show in July and is scheduled to be launched this month. But some industry leaders and analysts said they would not be surprised if the A350 XWB was delayed.

Airbus faces immense pressure to deliver on its revised schedule for the A380, which competes with Boeing's well-known 747.

Two of the A380's most important customers, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic airlines, have signaled that they might reconsider their orders.

Emirates has orders for 43 A380s and will lease two more from International Lease Finance Corp., which owns more than 900 aircraft that it leases to carriers around the world.

John L. Plueger, president of International Lease Finance, said he was confident that Airbus would correct its internal problems but added that his company had not decided what to do about the delays.

"Like everybody else, we're keeping our options open," Plueger said in a telephone interview. "The real question is: how many people may cancel and how many units might be canceled? We don't know the answer to that."

Airlines that have ordered A380s are excited about the planes and will probably get a "very good commercial deal" out of the delays in negotiations with Airbus, Plueger said.

He said he did not think any of the current A380 customers would dump the plane for other aircraft, but delays might "push some other airlines on the fence" into buying a stretch version of the 747.

Airbus's problems "could provide momentum" for Boeing's plane, he said.