When Will Emirates Retire Airbus A380 Fleet? 2040 Is The Plan…

When Will Emirates Retire Airbus A380 Fleet? 2040 Is The Plan…

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When you think of Emirates, the Airbus A380 may be the first thing that comes to mind. And when you think of the Airbus A380, Emirates might be the first thing that comes to mind. Emirates helped turn Dubai into the global transit hub that it is today, and the A380 is the plane that really enabled Emirates to do that. For the Dubai-based carrier, the A380 is more than just another aircraft.

With that in mind, I want to take a look at Emirates’ current retirement plans for the whale jet, as we’ve just seen another timeline shared.

Emirates plans to fly Airbus A380 until 2040

Emirates is the only airline in the world that has managed to make the Airbus A380 a huge success, as the airline was able to scale its A380 operations in a way that no other airline did. Emirates has around 120 A380s in its fleet, representing roughly half of the world’s total A380 deliveries. For some airlines, the A380 offered too much capacity, while for Emirates, the airline can’t get enough of the plane.

Unfortunately for Emirates (and us passengers), the days of the Airbus A380 are numbered. Airbus stopped A380 production in 2021, as there weren’t sufficient orders to keep production going. As much as Emirates could have almost kept the A380 program alive, the airline also realized it didn’t make sense to keep investing in an aircraft that would eventually become obsolete, as aircraft manufacturers invest in other aircraft technology instead.

So, what’s the latest on the retirement of the Airbus A380? This week, Emirates President Tim Clark has stated that the airline intends to fly the A380 until around 2040. This would be roughly 20 years from when the newest A380 was delivered to the airline, in 2021.

At one point, Emirates’ plan was to retire these planes as of the mid-2030s, so the longer timeline is something that many travelers will appreciate. To be clear, that doesn’t mean some A380s won’t be retired before then.

Quite to the contrary, the plan is for many A380s to start to be retired around the early to mid 2030s, and then they’ll be used for parts, to allow the remaining A380 fleet to keep flying. Emirates is still very much investing in its Airbus A380s, as these planes are being overhauled with refreshed cabins, including a new premium economy product. Clark even hints at a refreshed first class cabin on these jets.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that this timeline is very much subject to change. Just as coronavirus changed the airline industry in many ways, any major event that impacts global demand could cause Emirates to move forward A380 retirements. While 2040 is the goal as of now, if there’s a major economic downturn in the years prior to that, you can bet that those planes will be retired early.

Emirates plans to retire all A380s by 2040

How Emirates will replace its Airbus A380 fleet

The Airbus A380 is by far the largest passenger aircraft in the world, so it goes without saying that it’ll take a lot of frames to replace Emirates’ fleet of A380s. Emirates has roughly 250 aircraft at the moment, split almost evenly between Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, in addition to a handful of Airbus A350s, which the airline is just starting to take delivery of.

Eventually A380s and existing 777s will be retired, and that’s why Emirates has over 300 jets on order:

  • Emirates has 65 Airbus A350-900s on order, which are in the process of being delivered, and should all join the fleet by 2028
  • Emirates has 35 Boeing 787s on order, with 20 being for the 787-8 and 15 being for the 787-10, though there’s no delivery timeline for these planes, and one wonders if this is a placeholder order
  • Emirates has 205 Boeing 777Xs on order, with 35 being for the 777-8 and 170 being for the 777-9, and they’re expected to be delivered as of 2026, though that’s contingent on the 777X getting certified

Some may wonder why the Airbus A350-1000 isn’t in Emirates’ fleet plans, given that it’s Airbus’ largest aircraft that’s currently in production. It’s because Clark has been critical of the durability of the plane’s Rolls-Royce engines, so he doesn’t see it as a great fit.

Emirates’ future largely relies on the 777X

Will Emirates be the same without the Airbus A380?

There’s no denying that Emirates has a huge halo effect from the Airbus A380. When people think of Emirates, they almost always think of the A380, and in particular the business class bar and first class shower. Even if someone never travels in a premium cabin, these are two instantly recognizable signature amenities of Emirates.

Arguably the A380’s reputation has allowed Emirates to underinvest in other premium products. For example, Emirates’ Boeing 777 business class has historically been downright subpar, with seven angled seats per row (though a new product is finally being rolled out). While the A380’s amenities might be style over substance, I truly do believe that they give people the impression that Emirates is world class across the board, and causes people to overlook other shortcomings.

Without the Airbus A380, will Emirates maintain the same reputation? The A380 just has some extra real estate for airlines to play with, which you won’t find on other aircraft. Could we still see Emirates introduce an onboard bar on Boeing 777Xs, even if it comes with a bigger opportunity cost?

Honestly, it’s just kind of hard to imagine Emirates without the A380, because it’s such a core part of the brand’s experience.

Get ready for a future without shower suites!

Bottom line

Emirates’ current plan is to continue flying the Airbus A380 until around 2040, an extension of a timeline shared several years back, which had the planes all being retired by the mid-2030s. I’m always happy to see these whale jets sticking around longer, so I’d consider that to be great news.

This obviously remains subject to change, as a shift in global demand could cause Emirates to change that timeline. Emirates has lots of other aircraft on order to eventually replace the A380 (with more orders on the way). Still, one has to wonder what Emirates will be like without the A380.

What’s your take on Emirates eventually retiring the A380? Can you imagine the airline without the A380?

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  1. McCaron Guest

    the A380, the best plane on earth ever when you are flying all classes but eco, so silent and comfy

  2. iamhere Guest

    There are many routes that the airline could update. With many good comments about their business and first class service, I was disapointed on a long haul trip recently with business class 2-3-2 configuration.

  3. DJT Guest

    This is astonishing. By the time these planes retire, the onboard product will be 30 years ago!

  4. Nb Guest

    Lol ‘halo’ effect, something that can’t be proven. Imagine that Filipino guy buying his MNL-LON cheap as possible ticket and thinking: ooh gonna buy EK cos they have F/class shower

  5. Barry Guest

    There was talk about a 777-10 stretch some time ago. Obviously they need to get certification for the 777-9 first, but if Boeing already did the engineering studies and EK can make a large enough order, this may be an option to provide space for the halo amenities.

    1. LEo Diamond

      The wing size will be a limitating factor, along with that, engine thrust.

    2. AeroB13a Diamond

      LEo, lots of potential for Boeing to make another Max debacle by just adding to the age-old, age-old.

  6. Tim Dunn Diamond

    Ben has a totally accurate take.

    EK, which has benefitted by retiring a number of fleet types well below industry average, will keep the A380s as long as they possibly can because EK's reputation is so heavily tied to it.

    They will add 777Xs and other large widebodies but they want to have the 380 as part of their fleet as much for marketing purposes as anything else.

    And the biggest question is how the...

    Ben has a totally accurate take.

    EK, which has benefitted by retiring a number of fleet types well below industry average, will keep the A380s as long as they possibly can because EK's reputation is so heavily tied to it.

    They will add 777Xs and other large widebodies but they want to have the 380 as part of their fleet as much for marketing purposes as anything else.

    And the biggest question is how the growth of other airlines to/from India will impact EK given that EK is in a no-growth position to India and EK is currently the de facto flag carrier of India based on the number of seats they offer - of which the A380 provides a huge amount of seats.

    As the A380 is retired and as countries that have been where EK gets large amounts of traffic develop their airlines, EK will fall much more into line as a relatively smaller airline than other Asian airlines.

  7. VS Guest

    No commentary on UAE's religious extremism, from the blow-hearts who were cr***ping on AI's ad campaign because of India's religious extremism? After all, 2 of the 9/11 terrorists came from UAE.

    I guess they are busy accumulating points for ME3 award tickets.

    1. Speedbird Guest

      Funny to see you spamming this. Maybe Air India should be an airline worth flying, and then people would be willing to turn a blind eye to India's far right Hindu Nationalist extremism that persecutes everyone who isn't a Hindu Brahmin. Give me a call when the Air India experience rivals the ME3, maybe I'll book a ticket

  8. Mike O. Guest

    The best thing they can hope for is both OEMs to stretch their flagship aircraft to replace their A380s. But both OEMs have no appetite to stretch their aircraft, as they already have plenty on their plate.

    In the meantime, they have plenty of time between now and then to introduce cutting edge, revolutionary onboard products and not just evolutionary.

  9. UncleRonnie Diamond

    2040 is when they'll get their 777-X airframes?

    1. AeroB13a Diamond

      Now there’s a question Ronnie, is anyone taking bets that Boeing will still be in the commercial airline manufacturing business in ‘40?
      Airbus, Tata or the Chinese may have consumed Boeing by then.

    2. VS Guest

      I'll take a bet that Boeing will still be making commercial airplanes in 2040. How much?

    3. AJO Diamond

      We will probably see an A390* taking to the skies before those 777Xs will be delivered...

      (* or whatever the next A-number might be)

    4. AeroB13a Diamond

      AJO, with Airbus having twice as many final assembly sites (worldwide) than Boeing, you are probably correct to assume that the A360, A370 (or whatever) will land before the 777X.

    5. VS Guest

      I want to see if any of the folks trashing AI ad campaign for India's "religious extremism" show up here to criticize UAE.

      I guess not, because they salivate at the chance of enjoying the luxury of the ME3 airlines.

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AJO Diamond

We will probably see an A390* taking to the skies before those 777Xs will be delivered... (* or whatever the next A-number might be)

2
AeroB13a Diamond

AJO, with Airbus having twice as many final assembly sites (worldwide) than Boeing, you are probably correct to assume that the A360, A370 (or whatever) will land before the 777X.

1
AeroB13a Diamond

LEo, lots of potential for Boeing to make another Max debacle by just adding to the age-old, age-old.

1
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