The Airbus A380 is safe for the foreseeable future after Emirates Airline agreed today to buy up to 36 more of the giant four-engine jet in a deal valued at US$16 billion.
Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, taking delivery of its 100th as recently as last November. To date, 222 A380s have been delivered to 13 airlines.
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates said, “We’ve made no secret of the fact that the A380 has been a success for Emirates.
“Our customers love it, and we’ve been able to deploy it on different missions across our network, giving us flexibility in terms of range and passenger mix.
“Some of the new A380s we’ve just ordered will be used as fleet replacements. This order will provide stability to the A380 production line. We will continue to work closely with Airbus to further enhance the aircraft and onboard product, so as to offer our passengers the best possible experience.
“The beauty of this aircraft is that the technology and real estate on board gives us plenty of room to do something different with the interiors.”
The order comes as a huge relief to Airbus. The European manufacturer had admitted it would stop production of the aircraft if no further orders materialised. Now the A380 has at least another ten years.
