The president of Emirates Tim Clark confirmed that the airline agreed with Airbus over rescheduling the delivery of its remaining A380 orders and “secured financing for the units“. According to Clark, the cabin product of new superjumbos should be launched “in the coming months”.
On September 1, 2021, Emirates announced that it will receive three A380 jets by November 2021, moving forward with the initially set delivery schedule from June 2022. The trio of brand new Airbus A380 superjumbos will be fitted with a Premium Economy cabin and will have specific Emirates features, including private suites, shower spas for the First Class travelers, as well as an onboard lounge, and fully flat seats for passengers flying in Business Class.
“We’ve come to an agreement with Airbus to bring forward the delivery of our remaining A380 orders and have secured financing for these units. These new aircraft will also add more highly sought-after Premium Economy seats into our inventory, as we prepare to fully launch this cabin product in the coming months,” Tim Clark was quoted in the Emirates statement.
The Dubai-based air carrier plans to resume A380 operations from Dubai to 17 destinations, including Amman, Cairo, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, and Manchester, as well as Mauritius, Moscow, Munich, New York JFK, Paris, Toronto, Vienna, Washington DC, and Zurich. Emirates expect that in mid-fall 2021 travel restrictions will be eased due to the global increase in vaccination rates against the COVID-19 virus.
The rescheduled deliveries of three A380s will expand the Emirates fleet of A380s to 118 aircraft.
“Emirates will continue to be the largest operator of this spacious and modern aircraft for the next two decades, and we’re committed to ensuring that the Emirates A380 experience remains a customer favorite with ongoing investments to enhance our product and services,” Clark added.
The delivery of the last three A380s will mark the end of the superjumbo production, announced by Airbus in February 2019.