PARIS: European planemaker, Airbus will stop making the A380, pulling the plug on its iconic superjumbo jet that once promised to revolutionise commercial air travel but failed to deliver on outsized expectations.
“It’s a painful decision,” Airbus CEO Tom Enders said during a conference call with analysts. “We’ve invested a lot of effort, a lot of resources and a lot of sweat into this aircraft.”
The decision follows Dubai-based Emirates reducing its A380 order book from 162 to 123 aircraft. Emirates will take delivery of 14 further A380s over the next two years.
As a consequence and given the lack of order backlog with other airlines, Airbus will cease deliveries of the A380 in 2021, it said.
Meanwhile, Emirates has also decided to continue growing with Airbus’ newest generation, flexible widebody aircraft, ordering 40 A330-900 and 30 A350-900 aircraft.
“As a result of this decision we have no substantial A380 backlog and hence no basis to
sustain production, despite all our sales efforts with other airlines in recent years. This leads to the end of A380 deliveries in 2021,” said Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders. “The consequences of this decision are largely embedded in our 2018 full year results.
“The A380 is not only an outstanding engineering and industrial achievement. Passengers all over the world love to fly on this great aircraft. Hence today’s announcement is painful for us and the A380 communities worldwide. But, keep in mind that A380s will still roam the skies for many years to come and Airbus will of course continue to fully support the A380 operators,” Enders added.
“The A380 is Emirates’ flagship and has contributed to the airline’s success for more than ten years. As much as we regret the airline’s position, selecting the A330neo and A350 for its future growth is a great endorsement of our very competitive widebody aircraft family,” said Guillaume Faury, president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft and future Airbus CEO. “Going forward, we are fully committed to deliver on the longstanding confidence Emirates is placing in Airbus.”
Airbus will start discussions with its social partners in the next few weeks regarding the 3,000 to 3,500 positions potentially impacted over the next three years. However, the ongoing A320 ramp-up and the new widebody order from Emirates airline will offer a significant number of internal mobility opportunities. The company has delivered 234 of the superjumbos to date, less than a quarter of the 1,200 it predicted it would sell when it first introduced the double-decker aircraft.
“Passengers all over the world love to fly on this great aircraft. Hence today’s announcement is painful for us and the A380 communities worldwide,” Enders said in a statement. “But keep in mind that A380s will still roam the skies for many years to come and Airbus will of course continue to fully support the A380 operators.”
