It’s not a problem of Qantas sized proportions, but China Southern’s fresh A380, delivered two weeks ago, has broken down. Massive fail.

The carrier based in Guangzhou, which operates flights to Australia, has announced its first A380 has already broken down. The plane which China Southern was using to fly passengers between Shanghai and Beijing (the first carrier to put an A380 on regular domestic shifts) will be replaced by two A330s – no word yet if China Southern intends to stack them one on top of the other.

A China Southern spokes person told The Sydney Morning Herald that the problem was to do with the flap power and drive unit and that China Southern wouldn’t know when the world’s largest commercial aeroplane would take to the skies again.

With China producing knock offs as detailed as cars, surely it won’t be long until China Southern is back in the sky with a genuine double-decker Airbuz A3B0. Too harsh?