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 wanted to take a look at Emirates’ current retirement planes for the whale jet, as we’ve just seen another timeline shared.
In this post:
Emirates plans to start retiring Airbus A380s in 2032
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 roughly 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 stated that the airline intends to start retiring Airbus A380s in just under a decade, as of 2032. Now, that’s not quite as clear of a timeline as you might expect regarding when the plane will actually be retired:
- Emirates isn’t stating that all A380s will be retired by 2032, but rather that this is when the airline will seriously start to retire the aircraft
- Emirates has already retired some A380s, so you can expect the A380 fleet to already progressively shrink prior to 2032
- It’s anyone’s guess when the last A380 will be retired, but I’d guess that it will be somewhere around the mid-2030s
As of now, this is the best timeline we have. 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.
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.
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. Eventually all of these aircraft will be retired, though Emirates has planned for that.
Emirates has nearly 200 aircraft on order, spread across three types of aircraft:
- Emirates has 50 Airbus A350-900s on order, expected to be delivered as of 2024
- Emirates has 30 Boeing 787-9s on order, expected to be delivered as of 2025
- Emirates has 115 Boeing 777Xs (including the 777-8 and 777-9) on order, expected to be delivered as of 2025
On top of that, Emirates has plans to soon order 100-150 more wide body jets, intended to more directly replace the A380. The plan is for these aircraft be delivered between 2027 and 2033, around the time that Emirates will retire A380s.
This order is expected to include more Airbus A350s, Boeing 777Xs, and maybe even some more Boeing 787s.
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 is downright subpar, with seven angled seats per row. 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.
Bottom line
Emirates plans to start aggressively retiring its Airbus A380s as of 2032, so I imagine we won’t see any more of these jets flying beyond the mid-2030s. 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?
Sadly for me after our flight from Mcr to Queenstown Two of the segments on A380s albeit in economy . The experience for my wife and I was sub par from what we have had in the past A380 or not Our rtn to Uk is likely to be via Singapore .Not all the world can fly 1st or Business!
So sad won't be the same
Please don't let A380 to retire in 2032. I love this plane A380 than 747 as I feel more luxurious in the sky. I hope A380 keep to build more forever as it is just improvd the fuel and more etc. It helps to reduce the numbers of the planes in the sky because only A380 can carry more passages at a time daily. That's my belief that Emirates airlines may become unpopular if stop A380.
Agreed. People will no longer fly for Emirates if this were to happen or have any trust in the brand if this were to take place.
Will Emirates retire all of their 777-300ERs before the A380 retirement begins?
If Airbus would pitch an aircraft to airlines that is as big and as comfortable as the A380, while being very fuel efficient (as fuel efficient or more fuel efficient than the A350 and the 777X), that would assuange the concerns of many airline CEOs like QR, CX, LH, AF-KL group, KE-OZ group etc. Both passengers and the airline executives would get what they want in that hypothetical Airbus plane.
I have flown on an A380 three times including three days ago. The flights were quiet and smooth. The coach seating was reasonably sized on both Asiana and Korean Air. A big reason for retiring the airplanes is fuel efficiency. As new engines for new airplanes become more efficient, it will make less sense to keep flying them as the cost of the extra fuel will cut sharply into profits. Unfortunately the design does not...
I have flown on an A380 three times including three days ago. The flights were quiet and smooth. The coach seating was reasonably sized on both Asiana and Korean Air. A big reason for retiring the airplanes is fuel efficiency. As new engines for new airplanes become more efficient, it will make less sense to keep flying them as the cost of the extra fuel will cut sharply into profits. Unfortunately the design does not lend itself to converting them to freight operations. As they age, parting the retired aircraft out will become less profitable since a lot of parts will be available.
I was fortunate to fly in business class and 1st class on the A380. How is Emirates going to offer that kind of service on a single level wide body plane like 787, 797 or the A350-1000? Having a shower and a lounge on the plane was flying in style. The highlight of my new years trip to Dubai was celebrating at the Burj Khalifa but a close 2nd was flying home in 1st class...
I was fortunate to fly in business class and 1st class on the A380. How is Emirates going to offer that kind of service on a single level wide body plane like 787, 797 or the A350-1000? Having a shower and a lounge on the plane was flying in style. The highlight of my new years trip to Dubai was celebrating at the Burj Khalifa but a close 2nd was flying home in 1st class for 16 hrs to Texas. Jennifer Aniston's Emirates commercial makes so much sense, I wish the pilot would have flown around for an extra hour or a thunderstorm hit Houston causing to be in a holding pattern. I hope I get fly on that plane 1 more time before they are all gone. I now understand why the 747 fans love that plane, I love Emirates A380.
The A380 is the best civil airliner after the Concorde ever to grace the world's skies. I have been lucky enough to have flown on Emirates top deck, but for sheer service I think it sits behind Ethiad and Qatar in that order. I really hope that this wonderful aircraft continues to fly for many, many years to come.
I hate how Emirates is weakening themselves from bigger is better A380 to nothing normal pussy asses. I HATE IT TO DEATH!!!! Maybe we kill ourselves into political suicide by then because nobody wants to fly Emirates or conquer the world with them.
Seek help.
Up Yours. It is all or nothing beeyotch.
The thing is, Emirates has a good first class product relative to other airlines even without having a shower. However, without the bar, does the business class hold up as well? No, not so much, even on the A380, where the business class product is average at best.
If Emirates does away with the A380, it really needs to up it's business class game, though even with the 777 being crammed with people in business class, maybe it doesn't need to?
Julia- I am not sure I agree. I had the opportunity to fly EK First a number of times (all of them opportunistically booked on points, sorry Endre). I loved the shower etc, but the product itself was not all that exceptional. The food, for the most part, is shared with Business Class. The seat, while very private, is pretty narrow and first class lounge is nowhere near where Qatar or Qantas First lounges are.
Julia- I am not sure I agree. I had the opportunity to fly EK First a number of times (all of them opportunistically booked on points, sorry Endre). I loved the shower etc, but the product itself was not all that exceptional. The food, for the most part, is shared with Business Class. The seat, while very private, is pretty narrow and first class lounge is nowhere near where Qatar or Qantas First lounges are.
I think Emirates will have to be smart with how it wants to evolve. I think they have the potential to be as good, or better than Qatar, but like Lucky said - they need to decide between substance and style.
I'd say the new first class seat is pretty competitive (even if people compare it to a dentist's chair), and that's probably what Emirates will use going forward. Yes, the food menu is shared, somewhat, but you get much more options in first (plus caviar and much better drinks). Also I have to disagree with regards to the lounge, the first class lounge is pretty decent, though it can be a bit overwhelming I will admit.
It seems the A380 is more of a brand symbol, rather than Emirates actually needing it for capacity. Seeing the A380 on all the billboards and commercials still has that wow factor. But I'm guessing these planes rarely, if ever, go out completely full. And they can get away with downsizing to an A350, 777, etc, without any disruptions.
I’m of the opinion that when you think of Emirates it’s always., as youve indicated, the A380 and the way that they marketed this product. the bar,the shower and how many they have . For business class it’s really a hit and miss situation and especially the awful 7777 business layout, I’m currently travelling on Qatar through Doha experiencing their “last minute change of aircraft type” and walking up some very steep stairs in the...
I’m of the opinion that when you think of Emirates it’s always., as youve indicated, the A380 and the way that they marketed this product. the bar,the shower and how many they have . For business class it’s really a hit and miss situation and especially the awful 7777 business layout, I’m currently travelling on Qatar through Doha experiencing their “last minute change of aircraft type” and walking up some very steep stairs in the heat of the day in Doha, at least I’ve nearly always had an aerobridge in Dubai. (,ah premium , not so good )
Steven - I know the frustration. Middle East loses a lot of its elegance once you face the elements. To make you feel better, on 3 of my last flights in/out of Dubai, I had a remote gate and a very very long bus ride :)
It's a shame these will be retired. The A380s have the smoothest ride out there these days.
It is stupid. Isn’t it? Doesn’t make you want to fly for Emirates anymore. Right?