Blow for Airbus and Rolls-Royce as Emirates cancels A350XWB order

Emirates Airline has cancelled its order for 70 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. The decision follows on-going discussions between the airline and the European manufacturer as part of a fleet requirement review.
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In a statement this morning Airbus said that it and Emirates “benefit from a long-standing relationship and the airline recently reiterated its confidence in Airbus products particularly by praising the A380 and the benefits the aircraft brings to their operations.”
The order of 50 A350-900 and 20 A350-1000 was originally placed by Emirates in 2007 with first delivery slots scheduled from 2019.
Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research said: “Emirates' decision will come as a surprise and a blow to Airbus, particularly as the A350-900 approaches the end of a very successful flight test programme ahead of initial deliveries towards the end of this year.
“There had been speculation that missed performance guarantees and weight problems were irking several A350 customers, but with Emirates buying 150 777X jets with an option for 50 more, there was a possibility that the A350 just would not fit into Emirates newly devised fleet strategy - and this cancellation seems to reflect that strategic shift to concentrate on the A380, 777-300ER and 777X.
“There's no denying that this is a huge blow to Airbus and especially so for the slow selling A350-1000, which Airbus had hoped would dent demand for the 777X. That said, the A350 has a very strong backlog and it's not the first time Emirates has cancelled a major Airbus order - the last time it cancelled a deal for A340-600s in favour of more 777-300ERs.”
Airbus said it is very confident in its A350 XWB programme. “Half a year before entry into service, the A350 XWB order book stands at a healthy 742 firm orders. The A350 flight test campaign is progressing well and is on track for type certification in the coming months.”
Another organisation to be hit by the cancellation is UK engine maker Rolls Royce.
A spokesman for ROlls-Royce said: "While disappointed with this decision, we are confident that the delivery slots which start towards the end of this decade vacated by Emirates will be taken up by other airlines. Demand for the Airbus A350 remains strong, with more than 700 aircraft and 1,400 Trent XWB engines already sold. We retain a close working relationship with Emirates and continue to support their 38 Rolls-Royce powered wide body aircraft currently in service.
"As a result of today’s announcement, our order book will reduce by around 3.5% or £2.6bn. The order for 70 A350 aircraft was confirmed in 2007 as part of a larger $8.4bn announcement relating to a total of 120 Aircraft, all with TotalCare services. The options for the additional 50 aircraft, and the TotalCare contracts were not included in the amount captured in our order book."