Emirates Airline (Dubai) has placed an additional order for 50 Airbus A380 aircraft. The order was signed at a ceremony at the 2013 Dubai Airshow witnessed by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO.
Following delivery of their first A380 in July 2008, Emirates has now taken delivery of 39 A380s. Their 39th A380 is on Airbus’ static display at the 2013 Dubai Airshow. All Emirates’ A380s are powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines.
Since first entering service in 2007, the A380 has joined the fleets of ten world class carriers. The aircraft flies 8,500 nautical miles or 15,700 kilometres non-stop, carrying more people at lower cost and with less impact on the environment. The spacious, quiet cabin and smooth ride have made the A380 a firm favorite with both airlines and passengers, resulting in higher load factors wherever it flies.
The total A380 fleet has accumulated over one million flight hours in almost 140,000 commercial flights. To date some 50 million passengers have already enjoyed the unique experience of flying on board an A380. Every five minutes, an A380 either takes off or lands at one of the 34 airports where it operates today and the network is constantly growing.
On this historic “airline order milestone” day, Emirates issued this statement:
Emirates airline has again rewritten all records in civil aviation with an order for 150 Boeing 777X, comprising 35 Boeing 777-8Xs and 115 Boeing 777-9Xs, plus 50 purchase rights; and an additional 50 Airbus A380 aircraft.
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The agreement was signed today (November 17) at the Dubai Air Show by His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, with Jim McNerney, Boeing Chairman, President and CEO, and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus’ President and CEO. The signing was witnessed by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
Emirates’ Boeing 777X order is the single largest aircraft order by value in the history of U.S. commercial aviation, and the additional A380 order cements Emirates, already the largest operator of this aircraft type, as the principal customer for the A380 worldwide. These latest orders bring Emirates’ total firm order book to 385 aircraft (excluding options or purchase rights), comprising 214 Boeing 777s, 101 Airbus A380s, and 70 A350s, at a total estimated value of US$ 166 billion.
Emirates’ Boeing 777X
“The announcement today includes the purchase of 300 GE9X engines from General Electric, to power the 150 Boeing 777X aircraft ordered. Taking into account the U.S. Government jobs multiplier (every $1 billion in US aerospace exports supports 5,747 American jobs), today’s historic order will protect and support over 436,000 jobs in U.S. aerospace manufacturing – not only at Boeing and GE facilities, but with hundreds of other suppliers,” said Sheikh Ahmed.
Emirates’ 777-8X and 777-9X will be a combination of two and three-class configurations, with the 777-8X potentially seating 342 passengers in 3 classes, and the 777-9X seating over 440 passengers in 2 classes.
“Emirates today operates more than one in every 10 Boeing 777 aircraft built. It is the workhorse of our fleet. What the 777X does, is offer us a flying range comparable with the 200LRs and 300ERs, but with more passenger capacity at potentially up to 18% more fuel efficiency,” said Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline.
Emirates’ unwavering commitment to the Boeing 777 dates back to 1996. Today, Emirates is already the largest operator of the 777 with 131 in operation, and the only airline to fly all variants in the 777 family. At the 2011 Dubai Air Show, Emirates ordered 50 Boeing 777-300ERs with options for 20 more at a total value of US$ 26 billion (AED 95.4 billion). It was then a record breaking aircraft order– the single largest by any airline with Boeing in dollar value.
Emirates’ Airbus A380s
Emirates currently operates the world’s largest fleet of A380s with 39 in service.
Its order for 50 additional A380 aircraft today brings Emirates’ total A380 order book to 101 aircraft, worth US$ 45 billion. A combination of two and three-class cabin configuration, the first 25 of these latest A380 aircraft orders are scheduled to be delivered before the first quarter of 2018.
Emirates has been associated with Europe’s largest passenger aircraft since April 2000 when it became the first airline to announce plans to purchase the super jumbo. As the largest customer for the A380, Emirates is therefore the largest supporter of European aerospace manufacturing jobs tied to the A380 programme which is spread across Airbus’ manufacturing centres in France, Germany, England and Spain.
Follow-up article: From Reuters: Emirates was concerned that Airbus was considering slowing down A380 production because of lagging new orders and took a look at how many additional A380s it could physically take at its Dubai base and stated it could have ordered 10 more! This order now ensures the A380 production rate will continue and probable A380 profit for Airbus in 2015 or 2016. Read the full article: CLICK HERE
Analysis: Can other airlines, especially European and North American carriers, compete against the fast growing Gulf carriers? CNN Money explores this question: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Karl Cornil/AirlinersGallery.com. Emirates’ Airbus A380-861 A6-EEC (msn 110) with special “Expo 2020 Dubai UAE” stickers completes its final approach into London (Heathrow).
Video: An inside look at the Emirates Operations Control Room, Dubai.
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