Emirates Orders Further 32 Airbus A380 Superjumbos

Emirates Orders Further 32 Airbus A380 Superjumbos to Bring Total to 90

Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline has placed an order for an additional 32 Airbus A380 aircraft, taking the total firm order for the iconic flagship of the 21st century to 90 super-jumbos.

The order for the additional aircraft has a list price of $US 11.5 billion. The agreement was signed overnight during a ceremony at the Berlin Air Show by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, and Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO, witnessed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other dignitaries.

Emirates flies the popular A380s daily from Auckland via Sydney to Dubai and beyond, one of the airline’s four daily services from New Zealand.

“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 H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al- Maktoum. “The A380 is our flagship in terms of passenger comfort, innovation, operating and environmental efficiency and revenue generation.

“Our latest commitment signals Emirates’ confidence in the growth to come in a thriving aviation sector as we build our fleet for tomorrow,” he added.

Tom Enders said: “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 their support. The A380 is indeed a remarkable eco-efficient aircraft, a profit generator for airlines and a great flying experience for passengers.”

Emirates, the second largest airline in the world in available seat kilometres, is on track to become one of the largest airlines in the world.

In addition to the orders placed at Berlin, Emirates has on order 48 Airbus A380s, 70 Airbus 350s, 18 Boeing 777-300s and seven Boeing air freighters, totalling 143 wide-body aircraft worth more than $US48 billion. In a year where the aviation industry was rocked by the economic downturn, Emirates Airline recently reported its 22nd year of profit, up 416 percent to close at US$ 964 million.

From the delivery of its first A380 in July 2008, to receiving its 10th A380 at the weekend from the Airbus plant in Hamburg, Emirates is now serving eight international destinations with the super-jumbo aircraft, including 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. Emirates’ looks forward to expanding the list of destinations at more than 100 airports around the world as A380s become ready.

ENDS

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