Six Postponed For One Year

Following an agreement reached between Emirates Airline and Rolls-Royce and a consecutive agreement between Emirates Airline and Airbus, the Toulouse based aircraft manufacturer is to adapt the A380 delivery stream with six aircraft deliveries postponed from 2017 to 2018 and six others from 2018 to 2019.

Airbus re-confirms the target to deliver around 12 A380s per year from 2018 as announced earlier in July 2016.

Further fixed cost reduction initiatives will be accelerated so the impact on break-even in 2017 is minimal, according to Airbus.

Emirates placed its first order for an A380 back in 2000, and had placed 57 firm orders by 2007. The first of the superjumbo airliners was delivered to the carrier in 2008.

The U.K. newspaper The Telegraph reports that the production cut is the second announced by Airbus for the A380 this year. The planemaker said in July that it was reducing the rate to 12 per year in 2018. A year ago, Airbus projected making 27 superjumbos every year.

The A380 has been a slow seller for Airbus. There have only been 319 orders place for the A380 over the years, as airlines opt for more efficient twin-engine jets that burn less fuel and produce fewer emissions. Airbus only began to break even on the airplane last year, having lost money on every sale since it entered service in 2007.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.airbus.com