Emirates has announced that it will be taking delivery of its final Airbus A380 in November this year, brining forward the original delivery timeline from June 2022.
Last A380 in November
Emirates presently has 119 Airbus A380s in its fleet. The airline will take delivery of three more A380s this year, with the final aircraft joining its fleet in November 2021.
All three new A380s to be delivered will be fitted out with Emirates’ latest Premium Economy cabin as well as its latest A380 cabin interiors and signature features including private suites and Shower Spas in First Class, the popular Onboard Lounge, fully flat seats in Business Class and the popular Economy Class cabin.
These deliveries will bring Emirates’ total fleet of A380s to 118 units in November, including six aircraft equipped with Premium Economy seats in a 4-class configuration.
Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates, said:
We’ve come to an agreement with Airbus to bring forward the delivery of our remaining A380 orders and have secured financing for these units. These new aircraft will also add more highly sought-after Premium Economy seats into our inventory, as we prepare to fully launch this cabin product in the coming months.
Not going anywhere soon
There is some great news for Airbus A380 fans. Clark has again confirmed that the A380s are not going anywhere from Emirates and will remain in the airline’s fleet for at least two decades more. Clark added:
Emirates will continue to be the largest operator of this spacious and modern aircraft for the next two decades, and we’re committed to ensuring that the Emirates A380 experience remains a customer favourite with ongoing investments to enhance our product and services.
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End of an Era
Airbus announced the end of the A380 program in February 2019. While the European manufacturer said it wouldn’t be taking any more orders, it said it would deliver its outstanding orders for the type. While two A380s were bound for All Nippon Airways, most of them were bound for Emirates. So, this marks the end of the production line of the Airbus A380.
Why is Emirates taking new aircraft deliveries while many are in storage?
You may wonder why is Emirates taking the delivery of its last three A380s while many others are in storage in Dubai. The answer is in the cabin. The Middle Eastern carrier is seeking to increase its Airbus A380 containing its new premium economy cabin, which debuted earlier this year. It seems taking delivery of new aircraft where the cabin will already be fitted is easier than retrofitting some of the airline’s older aircraft for the time being.
The three aircraft are all being built with the premium economy cabin installed on delivery and will be registered as follows:
- MSN 270 – A6-EVQ
- MSN 271 – A6-EVR
- MSN 272 – A6-EVS
According to data from ch-aviation.com, of the 119 Airbus A380s in Emirates’ fleet today, only 30 are currently listed as active. 89 of them are out of service for the time being.
Where will Emirates operate its A380s to in October?
In October, Emirates will be operating its flagship Airbus A380s on over a dozen routes between Dubai and: Amman, Cairo, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Manchester, Mauritius, Moscow, Munich, New York JFK, Paris, Toronto, Vienna, Washington DC, and Zurich.
Emirates’ 4-class A380s are currently operating on flights from Dubai to London Heathrow and Paris Charles De Gaulle.
Meanwhile, Emirates recently launched a new account-based payment system called ‘Emirates Pay’. The airline has also reopened on its dedicated First Class lounge at Dubai International Airport and has launched an all-new airport service at Dubai International Airport to assist passengers more better. The carrier has launched flights to Miami, Florida making it the airline’s 12th destination in the United States. The airline has ramped up its operations across its network in response to pent-up demand. Emirates has resumed flights to Glasgow and has added a second Airbus A380 service to New York. Emirates Skywards has announced the launch of Skywards+ to offer its members access to exclusive rewards. Emirates, in the past month, has signed codeshare and interline agreements with two airlines. The airline has expanded partnership with South Africa’s Airlink, has announced an interline partnership with Mexico’s Aeromar, has signed a interline agreement with Cemair and has announced codeshare with Brazil’s Azul. Emirates will increase flights to Dublin to Daily in October 2021 and has revealed special A380 and B777 liveries to mark the UAE’s 50th anniversary. The carrier will resume flying to Newcastle in October.
Featured image by Emirates
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