Dubai based Emirates Airline placed a remarkable order for 32 additional Airbus A380s at the ILA Berlin Airshow on June 8.
The deal, the largest single order placed for the ultra-large airliner to date, takes Emirates’s total A380 firm commitments to 90, including the 10 delivered to date, and Airbus’s total A380 order book to 234 aircraft from 17 customers.
The order also comfortably surpasses Airbus rarely-reserved COO customers John Leahy’s prediction of sales of a further 20 A380s this year which he made at May’s Innovation Days media briefings at Broughton in North Wales.
“Emirates has supported the development of the A380 from the earliest days, and today’s order – the single largest A380 order ever – is the best endorsement I can imagine,” Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEO, said. “On behalf of all of us at Airbus, we thank Emirates for their confidence and support.”
“This latest order, adding to 58 A380s previously ordered, affirms Emirates’s strategy to become a world leading carrier and to further establish Dubai as a central gateway to worldwide air travel,” said Emirates chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum. “The A380 is our flagship in terms of passenger comfort, innovation, operating and environmental efficiency and revenue generation. Our latest commitment signals Emirates’s confidence in the growth to come in a thriving aviation sector.”
Emirates took delivery of its 10th A380 on June 7, and currently operates its fleet between Dubai and London Heathrow, Toronto, Paris, Jeddah, Bangkok, Seoul, Sydney and Auckland.
