Emirates delays a dozen A380 aircraft

Airbus Group SE's struggles with its A380 superjumbo are deepening as the plane maker delays deliveries of a dozen aircraft over the next two years to Emirates, reports Bloomberg.
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Analyst Saj Ahmad said: “Emirates decision to delay around 12 A380s not only damages the ability of Airbus to effectively market the sales-struggling airplane, it also means that the loss making program will endure a more uncertain future as the backlog shrinks and its likely now, that in the absence of a new-engine platform for it, the A380 is on borrowed time.

“Notwithstanding the technical issues that Emirates is untangling with engine maker Rolls Royce, the airline has faced stiff competition in the last year and many may see this as a move to rein in capacity growth. But it’s worth remembering that Emirates is still inducting an awful lot more 777-300ERs and is poised to extend the leases on many of its earlier sibling models.”

Ahmad added: “With the A380 rate already falling to 1 a month in 2018, it is now a foregone conclusion that the world’s biggest airplane will never recoup its investment and will almost certainly now die off before the 747 – itself a program only recently bolstered by UPS buying up to 28 747-8Fs.”