LEIDEN: Airbus announced Thursday the end of production of the A380, its iconic giant air entered service in 2007, at the end of the race for lack of orders and it will cease delivery in 2021.
Encouraged by the companies, the program had been kept alive for the last three years thanks to a slowdown in the production rate of one copy per month in 2018, compared to a total of 27 over the whole of 2015.
A year ago, the main customer of the A380, Emirates, had offered him a breath of fresh air with a new order of 36 aircraft that was to ensure the sustainability of the program.
But the hope was short-lived as the Gulf company finally decided to reduce its orders by 39 copies, definitively boosting the hopes of survival of the largest airliner in the world, with a capacity of 575 to 850 passengers according to amenities.
“The consequence of this decision is that our backlog is no longer sufficient to allow us to maintain production of the A380,” said Tom Enders, the Airbus executive chairman, during the presentation of the group’s results. in Blagnac, near Toulouse. “This will put an end to A380 deliveries by 2021,” he said.
“This is the end of this big four-engine jet, I’m talking about the end of production but not the end of the program” since the plane will continue to fly “until 2030” at Emirates, he said pursued evoking improvements that had been made to the jumble, but failed to convince customers. “Trust us, we did not give up easily,” he added.
The “Super Jumbo”, designed to connect hubs, has not withstood the competition of new large carriers, long-haul bi-engines such as the Boeing 787. Airbus has responded with its A350, easier to fill and more profitable.
The list price value of the European manufacturer’s flagship is $ 445.6 million. Emirates replaced its A380 order with another for 40 A330neo and 30 A350s with a list price of $ 21.4 billion.
“Emirates has been a staunch supporter of the A380 from the very first hour,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Said al-Maktoum, the CEO of the Gulf Company, quoted in a statement, saying it expects another 14 copies by the time end of 2021. The aircraft “will remain a pillar” of the Emirates fleet, says the boss of the company, which had made a symbol of luxury.
