Emirates Airline took delivery Friday on its 100th A380, and hinted it may order even more than the 40 remaining in their contract with Airbus.
As it is, Emirates operates just under half of all the world’s A380s. That ratio won’t change after the remaining 40 are delivered, because Airbus’s total sales for the double-deck 4-engine super-jumbo only total 315.
And that 315 figure is considered soft, because a number of orders are from airlines that have changed plans, gone out of business, or changed their business plans. Most airline orders in recent years have been for more fuel-efficient two-engine planes, both in the long and short-haul markets.
In fact, the lack of deep interest in the A380 has led to widespread speculation for the past couple of basically order-less years that Airbus would have to shut down the line before all orders are completed to avoid huge losses. A new order from Emirates might change that picture; if there’s a deal, it may be announced at the upcoming Dubai Airshow.
Chinese airlines need between 60 and 100 A380 planes over the next five years as passenger traffic increases,
Garry, those airlines all fly them…but the numbers are on Emirates. Here’s the deliveries, and the total firm orders, as of Sept. 30 (and before Emirates got 99 and 100… Overall, Emirates has more than the next 9 carriers combined, and has a bigger total order than the next 11 combined. It’s very clear: No Emirates, no A380.
The article you quoted is based mainly on the optimisim of the head of Airbus sales in China, who’d like to think it could happen, but since only one Chinese airline has ordered any (China Southern) he may be a liitle overoptimistic. Especially since in the 10 years since CS placed its order, Chinese airlines have been buying 777s and A350s by the ton for the kind of routes that A380s might have a chance on.
Emirates, by the way, is also the largest operator of 777s, with 146 in the fleet, and 150 more on order, mostly -8 and -9 models.
I am amazed that a single airline could keep this huge plane flying. Good for Emirates!
It appears that Airbus’s hopes of a new A380 order from Emirates have hit at least a temporary obstacle: The airline has told Airbus it won’t order more of the super-jumbo unless Airbus can commit to 10 more years of production, a goal that Airbus likely cannot meet.