Emirates is the world’s largest operator of the A380. So far they have a total of 87 A380 aircraft in their fleet, witha total of 142 A380 aircraft on order.Emirates has almost as many A380s as all other airlines combined, which is pretty amazing.
Continue reading: Trouble In The Gulf: Emirates Is Delaying A380 Deliveries
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Nice to see the Gulf carriers having to run like businesses for a change rather than being simply "chosen instruments" for their respective governments. It was fun while it lasted, but Lucky is right. This is only the beginning of a period of radical changes for these carriers. The Western carriers learned the hard way, dumping cheap seats in the market is not a sustainable option.
Perhaps they grew too quickly? I still remember flying EK back in 2006 when its only destination in the USA was JFK. For a few years I was an EK gold and DXB-JFK flights were almost always full so the likelihood of getting an op-up from economy to business was quite high.
It will be interesting to see if they'll terminate any routes to the USA that aren't profitable.
As I have mentioned here before..
The unsustaiunability by the Gulf carriers of ordering so many A380's is reminiscent of a
CEO gone wild with Uncle Dubie's bank account..I also mentioned that the British Airbus Sales Associates, would do well to plan an exit thorough the desert, by 'turbocharged' camels.
Ram, they have a bunch of 777's as well
I kinda like that they fly so many A380's. Often Emirates run the only A380 into secondary airports.
Moreover the plane would probably not be viable but for Emirates. And personally I love the A380
The key factor here (as indicated also in the press release) is that the Rolls-Royce engines are not performing according to expectations (all previous A380 for Emirates had Engine Alliance engines GP7200), hence the delay.
Also not to be forgotten - not every incoming A380 is an additional one. Given the lease terms and Emirates' approach to operating one of the youngest long-haul fleets in the sky, we will start to see both A380s and 777-300ERs being replaced with new models with expiring leases. And given today's low interest rate environment, getting new jets can actually lower operating costs significantly.
The game of stranggling each other neck till one is knockout of the ring has a limit. Not an if but when.
Emirates is one of the world's largest financial black holes which is sustained by financial sleight of hand. It isn't sustainable forever. One day they will have to write off most of their A380 fleet which is still carried on its books at full value, and then the game will be up. Great for the traveling public while it lasts.
Always thought that the A380 was a vanity project and only survived through Emirates. Airbus should be thinking now of stopping it, before Emirates cancels it. Great aircraft but out of step with current thinking, i.e. two engines are better than four. The great passenger increase has not appeared as yet and so it seems Emirates are correct to cut back. When will it be canceled? Airbus should be ready sooner rather than later. I bet they are thanking themselves for not going down the "stretch" avenue with the A380.