Emirates A380 celebrates 10 years of operations
Since its first flight to New York from Dubai on 1 August 2008, the Emirates A380 has carried more than 105 million passengers, clocking in more than 1.5 billion kilometres on 115,000 flights, equivalent to 39,000 trips around the globe. Watch the Emirates A380 10 year journey here
Emirates is the world’ largest operator of the A380 aircraft, with 104 double-decker aircraft flying to 49 cities on 6 continents on scheduled services with more than 80 daily departures from Dubai, the airline’s hub. In addition to its 104-strong fleet, the airline has a further 58 A380s on order. Today, Emirates also operates the world’s shortest A380 route from Dubai to Kuwait and the world’s longest A380 non-stop route from Dubai to Auckland. The airline has also grown its scheduled services to major airports and has also successfully grown demand at regional airports such as Manchester, Brisbane, Kuala Lumpur, Houston, Prague, Kuwait, Mauritius, Johannesburg and Sao Paulo.
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “It’s been 10 extraordinary years since the first Emirates A380 flight took to the skies, and today it has become one of the most recognisable and admired aircraft in the world. Passengers love to fly it because of its spaciousness which provides more comfort across all classes, and its iconic products like the OnBoard Lounge, Shower Spa and First Class suites have redefined air travel. We remain committed to providing the best experience for our customers aboard our flagship aircraft, and introducing new innovations that will continue to ‘wow’ them every time they fly with us.
The Emirates A380 has also had a significant impact on the aerospace industry and its high-value supply chains, fuelling hundreds of thousands of jobs for skilled workers, and creating significant economic benefits in countries which have A380 production facilities. The aircraft continues to boost tourism and trade wherever it flies by stimulating further traffic and demand, and we hope that it continues to play an important role in the economies and societies that it serves in the years to come.”
Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: “There's no question that the A380 has been a big money-spinner for Emirates and that the airline exploits it's Dubai hub with this behemoth to great effect.
“Aside from providing Airbus with thousands of jobs, Emirates' commitment to the A380 underscores how the airline has utilised it's organic growth strategy to capture traffic in large numbers, which has in turn propelled Dubai International as the world's busiest international airport.
“That said, Emirates is also planning it's future beyond the A380 too. No airplane lasts forever and its reality that as it ages, new and more efficient inductees in 777X and the 787 will start to form the backbone of Emirates' long haul fleet for the next decade and beyond.”
Ahmad added: “The A380 as a programme has been a financial choker for Airbus and with Singapore Airlines already jettisoning five early build A380s after just ten years demonstrates that the airplane has a fixed shelf life and will struggle to be remarketed elsewhere.
“Emirates' plans to induct up to 200 777X's will primarily replace today's 777s, but by the time it takes its 200th 777X delivery, the A380 fleet will be operationally expensive and economically inefficient - so it stands to reason that they'll procure more 777Xs and 787s going forward.
“For the hear and now - Emirates is enjoying it's dominance thanks to the allure of the A380 for its passengers and there's no denying that the airline has harmonised it's growth and pricing in tandem with the economies of scale that it has with its huge widebody fleet.”
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