TOULOUSE, France (AP) — An Airbus A380 took off yesterday for Asia, on the first in a final series of test flights intended to lead to airworthiness certification for the superjumbo programme that has been hit by a costly two-year production delay.The A380 took off from Toulouse, southern France, bound for Seoul, with a stopover in Singapore planned on each leg of the round trip.

The four last trips in the test flight schedule, ending November 30, are designed to put the 555-seater A380 through 150 hours of flights under the kind of operating conditions it will experience with airlines.

Representatives of the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency are travelling aboard the final series of test flights.

The superjumbo, which takes off again on Friday for Hong Kong and Narita, Japan, is on track for certification by mid-December, Airbus spokeswoman Maggie Bergsma said.

Singapore Airlines will be the first carrier to fly paying passengers aboard the A380 after it receives its first superjumbo in October next year — a year later than originally planned. Subsequent deliveries have suffered longer delays, averaging two years.

The plane that took off Monday, which bears the serial number MSN002, will eventually enter commercial service with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.

Airbus and parent company European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. have blamed wiring problems for the holdups, which are set to wipe 4.8 billion euros ($6.2 billion) off profit over the next four years and are complicating plans for a still-unlaunched mid-size jet to compete with Boeing Co.'s 787.

The French government has promised aid for Airbus suppliers hit by the delays, in the form of cheap bridging loans and guarantees.

The government plans to lend 80 million euros ($100 million) to aerospace companies, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said in an interview to be published by regional newspaper La Depeche du Midi today, when Villepin is scheduled to visit Airbus headquarters in Toulouse.

Airbus separately announced orders for eight single-aisle A320 jets yesterday, from Pakistani airline Airblue and Kuwaiti leasing company ALAFCO.