In a few more months, the production of the Airbus A380 will stop. Emirates, by far the largest user of the type, is the last airline to have a few units of the superjumbo on order.

Initially, the last A380 was supposed to be handed over to Emirates in June 2022, but the airline has now moved the delivery forward. "We have reached an agreement with Airbus to bring forward the delivery of our remaining three A380s," said Emirates chief executive Sir Tim Clark.

The new aircraft are equipped with the recently launched Premium Economy Class, which means that Emirates will soon have six A380s where that product is offered. The total A380 fleet will consist of 118 airplanes by the end of this year.

According to Clark, Emirates plans to continue flying the A380 for another 20 years. Many other users of the type, such as Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Air France and Lufthansa, see no future for the superjumbo.

Now that the demand for airline tickets is slowly rising, Emirates flies to more and more destinations with the A380.

--- DB4 - Sep 01 2021
* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)