Emirates 'confirms' A380 until 2040 (and maybe a new first class will arrive)
Long live the A380; these are the watchwords. At least according to Emirates-the airline with the most doubledecker [...]
Emirates
Long live the A380; these are the watchwords. At least according to Emirates - the company with the largest number of doubledeckers in its fleet, as many as 116 - which has Confirmed this aircraft until at least 2040: great news, then, for all the enthusiasts who have not yet had a chance to board these double-decker 'birds'. Making the announcement was Sir Tim Clark, the chairman of Emirates, during the Annual General Meeting & World Air Transport Summit 2025 organized by IATA and held in New Delhi last June 1-3.
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The more observant will recall that, until recently, EK had decided to fly its A380 until 2030: the delay in deliveries of A350s and, especially, Boeing 777Xs however, has disrupted the Dubai-based carrier's plans. This does not mean that all 116 double deckers will continue to fly until the last day in the 40s of this century; far from it. The plan is that, in a decade or so, a number of A380s will be grounded and is then used as "spares" (to allow the rest of the fleet to fly again).
When one thinks of Emirates, the A380 comes to mind, and vice versa. There is no denying that the aircraft in question has contributed to EK's exponential growth; just as one cannot fail to specify how crucial the Dubai-based company has been to the success of the double-decker giant.
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Emirates is, arguably, the carrier that has most believed in (and, consequently, bet on) this aircraft: suffice it to say that about half of the A380s produced by Airbus have been delivered to the Emirates carrier itself. And, mind you, it has not stopped believing in it, quite the contrary: as we wrote a few months ago, President Clark would be ready to financially support the A380neo project. Not only that. At the Annual General Meeting & World Air Transport Summit 2025 Sir Clark hinted that a new first class cabin in the Super Jumbo: the new first class "is on the drawing board," Clark said.
Realistically, I doubt that Emirates could really devise a new cabin for planes that will go to waste in a short time; it would be a huge waste of time (as well as money). Instead, it is much more likely that the current F cabin will be Updated both aesthetically and technologically. What matters, however, is that the A380 will continue to fly for the next 15 years; long live the Super Jumbo.
