EMIRATES Airline recently placed an order with Airbus for an additional 32 A380 aircraft, worth $11.5 billion, taking its total firm order to 90 super-jumbos.
“This latest order, adding to 58 A380s previously ordered, affirms Emirates’ strategy to become a world-leading carrier and to further establish Dubai as a central gateway to worldwide air travel,” said Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group.
“Emirates supported the development of the A380 from the earliest days, a project employing tens of thousands of Europe’s best people, and today’s increased order is the best endorsement I can imagine. On behalf of all of us at Airbus, we thank Emirates for its support. The A380 is indeed a remarkable eco-efficient aircraft, a profit generator for airlines and a great flying experience for passengers,” said Tom Enders, president and CEO of Airbus.
In addition to the newly placed orders, the airline has 48 Airbus 380s, 70 Airbus 350s, 18 Boeing 777-300s and seven Boeing air freighters on order totalling 143 wide-body aircraft worth more than $48 billion. In a year when the aviation industry was rocked by the economic downturn, Emirates Airline recently reported its 22nd year of profit, up 416 per cent to close at $964 million over its 2008-09 profits.
Emirates is now serving eight international destinations with the super-jumbo aircraft comprising London Heathrow, Toronto, Paris, Jeddah, Bangkok, Seoul, Sydney and Auckland. The airline will start A380 services to Beijing from August 1, Manchester from September 1 and will return service to New York’s John F Kennedy (JFK) airport on October 1 and the airline anticipates expanding the list of destinations at more than 100 airports around the world as further A380s become ready.
• Emirates has also recently become the first airline in the Middle East to introduce a service allowing passengers to purchase a UAE visa online.