Business

Emirates Gets its First A380, Adds to Airbus Buy

posted: 28 July 2008 04:21 pm ET

: Emirates Airline, the flag carrier of Dubai, took delivery of its first Airbus A380 on July 28, 2008. Emirates is the second airline to receive the A380 and is by far the largest customer for the type, with 58 on order. Credit: Airbus S.A.S. 2008

Emirates Airline took delivery today of its first A380, becoming the second airline (after Singapore Airlines) to receive one of the Airbus superjumbos and the first carrier to receive an A380 powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines.

At the ceremony, held at the Airbus facility in Hamburg, Emirates unveiled its exclusive long-haul A380 cabin design, which features 489 seats: 14 first-class suites, 76 business-class seats and 399 economy seats. For added passenger relaxation, Emirates is having ceiling mood lighting installed throughout its A380s to create a calming starry-night-sky effect.

Emirates' first A380 will take off for the United Arab Emirates tomorrow, arriving at Dubai International Airport in the afternoon. Emirates’ first A380 commercial service will be on Aug. 1, from Dubai to New York JFK.

The airline is by far the largest customer for the A380, with 58 of the type on order. In the future, Emirates will reveal a two-class cabin design featuring more than 600 seats for some of its A380s. It plans to operate these aircraft on shorter-haul, high-traffic-density routes to the Indian subcontinent and within the Middle East region.

In addition to accepting its first A380, Dubai-based Emirates marked today's delivery ceremony by announcing another big deal for Airbus widebody aircraft. The airline signed a letter of intent (LOI) for 30 A330-300 widebodies and 30 additional A350 XWBs.

Emirates previously placed a firm order for 70 A350 XWBs at the Dubai Airshow in 2007 and took options on another 50. Today's LOI represents the first stage in firming up 30 of the options, and will eventually increase Emirates’ total order for the A350 XWB to 100 aircraft.

The LOI also represents Emirates' first commitment to the medium-to-long-haul A330-300 twinjet, which can carry 300 passengers on routes of up to 5,650 nautical miles (10,500 kilometers). However, Emirates already operates 29 A330-200s. The A330-200 is a longer-range, shorter-fuselage version of the A330. Emirates has a total of 50 Airbus aircraft in its fleet at present.

More than 500 guests were present for today's A380 delivery ceremony. The aircraft was presented to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group, and to Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline.

Formally handing over the superjumbo on behalf of Airbus were Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEO, and John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer, customers — the company's well-known super-salesman. Also present was James Moravecek, president of Engine Alliance (which is a joint venture between General Electric and Pratt & Whitney), and Bruce Hughes, former president of the joint venture.

“Emirates was quick to recognise the potential of Airbus’ all new A380 design, with its large double-deck capacity and excellent operating economics. It will be one of the pillars of Emirates’ future,” said Sheikh Ahmed. “With its very low fuel burn and quietness, the A380 also sets new standards in environmental performance."

The airline's A380s, each powered by four GP7200 engines delivering combined total takeoff thrust of 288,000 pounds of thrust, will offer overall fuel efficiency of three litres of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometers — which is equivalent to about 80 miles per gallon per passenger.

Speaking of Emirates' additional Airbus commitment, Sheikh Ahmed said: “Dubai aims to attract 15 million visitors a year by 2012 and Emirates is forging ahead with expansion plans. The A350 XWB and A330 will enable Emirates to expand using modern fuel efficient aircraft and alongside the A380 they will be key tools in achieving our goals.”

To date, total orders and commitments for the A380 stand at 202 aircraft from 17 customers. The latest order, a follow-up deal for 10 A380s to add to four previously ordered by the airline, was announced by Etihad Airways at the Farnborough Air Show earlier this month.

Etihad Airways is based in Abu Dhabi, next door to and just 70 miles southwest of Dubai, and potentially will become one of the largest operators of the A380. It currently holds orders, options and purchase rights for a total of 24 of the superjumbos.