Emirates Reaffirms The Airbus A380 Will Fly Until The 2040s With No Suitable Replacement

Tim Clark, the President of Emirates, reiterated that the Airbus A380, the airline’s flagship aircraft, will continue flying for at least the next 20 years, as aircraft manufacturers would not be able to offer a viable alternative by then. Still, the executive believes that such large aircraft have a long-term future, especially with the arrival of new technologies.

Big fan of the Airbus A380

Clark, who spoke with airliners.de, reaffirmed that the double-decker aircraft would fly at least until the 2040s. Clark’s comments align with what Richard Jewsbury, the Divisional Vice President for the United Kingdom (UK) at Emirates, told Simple Flying in early September 2023. Then, Jewsbury stated that the airline took delivery of its last A380 in December 2021, meaning the aircraft is around two years old now.

“So, the more recently delivered aircraft are going to be around for a while. It’s going to be the late 2030s, maybe early 2040s, before we wave goodbye to the last A380, they’re going to be here for the foreseeable future.”

When Emirates announced its H1 FY2023/2024 results, the airline said that as of September 30, it utilized its entire Boeing 777 fleet and 104 Airbus A380s. During the first six months of the financial year, 10 A380s “rolled out of Emirates’ retrofit programme with completely refreshed cabin interiors and latest onboard products including Premium Economy seats.” The airline ended the period with revenues of AED59.5 billion ($16.2 billion) and a profit of AED9.4 billion ($2.6 billion).

Nevertheless, Clark has been a massive fan of the Airbus A380. On multiple occasions, including when he spoke with airliners.de, the executive reiterated calls for a re-engined A380 or a new double-decker aircraft with the latest engine technology. Clark noted that the A380’s current engines were developed in the 1990s, so any new aircraft would be much more fuel-efficient than the current double-decker.

Photo: Davide Calabresi | Shutterstock

Emirates’ order book

Currently, Emirates has three aircraft types on order that it does not operate, namely the Airbus A350-900, Boeing 777X, and 787. Boeing’s unfilled orders data also showed that the carrier has five 777Fs on order, with ch-aviation data indicating that the airline’s cargo division operates 11 Boeing 777F aircraft.

Nevertheless, Clark denied that Emirates might drop its orders for the 787. The executive noted that the airline might take delivery of these aircraft in the second half of the next decade, especially as it begins eyeing a move to Dubai’s other airport, Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC).

Read more: Dubai Eyes Restart Of $33 Billion DWC Airport Expansion Program

In its FY2022/2023 full-year report, Emirates said that the Airbus A350s are scheduled to be delivered from mid-2024 onwards. Meanwhile, Boeing anticipates that the first deliveries of the 777X should occur in 2025, with the type still needing to be certified by the United States (US) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Photo: BlueBarronPhoto | Shutterstock

Emirates placed its 777X orders during the Dubai Airshow in 2013, ordering 35 777-8 and 115 777-9. However, Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries filings, which began to show orders by model type in July 2023, showed 35 fewer orders for the 777-8, prompting speculation that the airline has switched the 35 orders to the larger 777-9.

Sources: airliners.de, ch-aviation