Emirates and Airbus have firmed up an earlier MoU and signed a contract for 20 additional A380s with a further 16 options to be confirmed at a later date.
Emirates and Airbus have firmed up an earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and signed a contract for 20 additional A380s with a further 16 options to be confirmed at a later date. The total agreement for 36 aircraft is valued at $16bn based on latest list prices. Deliveries are to start in 2020.
The agreement was signed at the World Government Summit in Dubai by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group; and Mikail Houari, Airbus President for Africa and Middle East.
If Emirates exercises all its options, the A380 order book will increase from 95, as of the end of 2017, to 131. This ensures an extra lease of life for the production line and gives Airbus additional breathing space to secure additional orders.
Before firming up the new order, Airbus had announced plans to halve the previous production rate, to 12 aircraft in 2018, followed by just eight in 2019. Fabrice Brégier recently indicated that the production rate could drop to six aircraft per year, without any major impact on profitability.