The Strategist

Airbus stops producing the largest passenger airliner since 2021



02/14/2019 - 11:28



The European Airbus concern stops production of the A380 airliner since 2021. The decision was made due to lower demand for the aircraft by Emirates and the lack of interest in them from other carriers. In the next two years, the airline should transfer the remaining 14 aircraft and close the program, however, leaving the maintenance. At the same time, in the general order book of Airbus, which has 7.5 thousand aircraft, there is also an Emirates order with a total value of $ 21.4 billion for 40 A330 airliners and 30 A350 aircraft.



A6-EDJ
A6-EDJ
Airbus will abandon production of the largest passenger airliner A380, the firm said on its website. Deliveries will stop in 2021. The holding specified that the decision was made in connection with reduction of orders from Emirates by 39 units, to 123 aircraft.

“We do not have a significant number of outstanding A380 orders, therefore, there is no reason to maintain production, despite all our sales efforts with other airlines in recent years,” said Thomas Enders, Airbus CEO. At the same time, the top manager noted that the company will continue to provide technical support for the aircraft being operated.

“Do not forget that the A380 aircraft will still fly into the sky for many more years, and Airbus, of course, will provide full support to the operators of the A380,” Mr. Enders said.

Airbus will still need to deliver Emirates 14 airliners, which will be made in the next two years, the company said. In addition, Emirates ordered 40 A330 aircraft and 30 A350 airliners with a total value of $ 21.4 billion from the holding.

The Airbus 380 is the world's largest wide-body double-decker passenger plane. Its first flight took place in 2005. The maximum capacity of the aircraft of the first version is 853 people, the maximum take-off weight is 575 tons, the maximum range of flight is 15.2 thousand km, and the cruising speed is 945 km/h.

Airbus has not previously ruled out the possibility of stopping production of the A380. In December 2018, it was reported that the aviation company is developing a plan to phase out production of these aircraft, if it does not receive a large order from Emirates. And in March, Airbus announced plans to reduce to 3.7 thousand employees due to the insufficient number of orders for the A380 and A400M and the revision of their production volumes.

At the end of 2018, Airbus's net profit grew by 29% to € 3 billion. Orders for commercial aircraft of the concern amounted to 747 airliners against 1.1 thousand aircraft in 2017. The total volume of the Airbus orders portfolio at the end of 2018 is 7.58 thousand aircraft. In 2019, the concern plans to supply 880–890 airliners to customers.

source: cnbc.com