The aviation industry has lately witnessed Emirates, the largest airline of the Middle East region owned by the UAE government, announcing its decision to sign an agreement with Airbus to buy nearly twenty A380 Jets along with an alternative of purchasing sixteen more of its kind from the latter. It has been estimated that the deal will cost Emirates nearly USD 16 billion and the airplanes will be delivered by 2020. As per reliable sources, Emirates already has a consignment of over hundred A380 double decker jumbo jets in its fleet along with previously placed orders for forty-one more jets.
The Dubai based airline has stated that with the placement of new order for double decker aircrafts, its commitment with Airbus for purchasing 178 A380 superjumbo aircrafts will amount to USD 60 billion. Reports claim that the deal to purchase thirty-six superjumbos from Airbus was expected to be signed in November last year during the Dubai Air Show. However, Emirates decided to sign a pact with Boeing to purchase 40 Boeing Dreamliners for over USD 15 billion, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the Emirates-Airbus agreement. However, sources state that the talks between the two airlines resumed after the European aircraft manufacturer had declared halting the A380 production without new orders, which resulted in the purchase agreement being signed between the airlines.
A key official of Airbus has reported that Emirates is a single airline, which has the capability of committing nearly six airplanes yearly and has done so for almost eight to ten years. Industry analysts have confirmed that the agreement is a win-win situation for both Airbus and Emirates. It will be mutually beneficial with A380 being crucial to Emirates’ business expansion plans along with the imports of the double decker jets being a key to Airbus’s continuation program to manufacture aircrafts on a large scale.