Toulouse, France - Australian carrier QantasQantas has taken delivery of the first of the 20 Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft it has ordered, Airbus said Friday.

The aircraft was handed over to Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon at a ceremony at Airbus headquarters in the southern French city of Toulouse.

The world's largest commercial airliner, the A380 typically seats 525 passengers but can seat up to 850, depending on cabin configuration.

The Qantas A380 will have a more spacious cabin, with only 450 seats, 332 of them in Economy class, Airbus said in its statement.

Airbus head Tom Enders on Friday refuted recent press reports that delivery of the A380 would have to be delayed for a fifth time.

"Speculation about delays have become a game for the media," Enders told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. "I'm prepared to bet a Magnum bottle that we will deliver more than 11 planes this year."

A report on Sunday in the French weekly Journal du Dimanche cited an Airbus source as saying that only 10 A380 aircraft would be delivered this year instead of the 12 announced previously.

According to the report, the discrepancy could be even greater in 2009, with only 15 aircraft delivered instead of the planned 21. (dpa)