Superjumbo Flight Delay

Forget the inflight shower for now. Don't set your heart on a first-class suite in the sky. Postpone your dream of savoring any of the other distinctive features of first-class flight on the world's biggest passenger aircraft.

Emirates is grounding its -- and the world's -- first A380 superjumbo jet.

It's just for a few days, the airline said. But the problem -- faulty wiring -- has long bedeviled the double-decked airplane made by Airbus, the European consortium.

Emirates, based in Dubai, has been flying its first A380 between Dubai and New York twice a week since the beginning of August. But the airline said it has suspended the service until at least Friday while engineers work on an "electrical issue."

The flight crew noticed the unspecified problem while the aircraft was on the ground in Dubai, where it remains. Emirates continues to fly between Dubai and New York, but is using a 777 made by Airbus's bitter rival, Boeing.

Emirates, which has ordered 58 of the Airbus aircraft, is awaiting delivery of a second A380, but it has been delayed by problems with a subcontractor finishing the interior, a spokesperson for the carrier said.

by Mark Stein