16/11/2021
Emirates Will Reinstate Its 60 A380s
Emirates, the largest customer of A380, plans to reinstate more of its double-deckers by the end of 2021. Emirates will return more than 60 of its A380s to the skies, up from 47 superjumbos currently in operation, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman, and CEO of Emirates Group said at the Dubai Airshow.
Emirates has gradually been restoring its fleet of 118 superjumbos that were grounded last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline recorded operating profit in October for the first time since the pandemic. October was a “positive month for Emirates, it was better than expected and I see that is going to continue”, Sheikh Ahmed said.
Emirates has been engaged in “positive” talks with Boeing regarding the delivery time and supply chain for the 777X program, Sheikh Ahmed said. "It is positive, it is good, maybe there are certain things I cannot say at the moment because still, we are in that process,” he said. “But I can say it is positive. We [will] focus on the program delivery.” Emirates also has Airbus A350s on order and Sheikh Ahmed did not rule out potential interest in Airbus's new A350 freighter version.
“We've been in good, positive meetings with Boeing on the 777X program and to be sure on the delivery date and also on the Airbus today with A350. So, we would be talking about what we can expedite. We have many scenarios" he said, without elaborating.
“We are one of the companies that are owned by the government of Dubai, which announced Dewa and Salik will be the first in the program. I am sure that the committee headed by Sheikh Maktoum [bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance] would be announcing that in the [coming] days and weeks, so they would be the right people to answer which company.”
