News
Airbus cuts A380 production
July 15th 2016
Airbus has decided to more than halve production of its flagship A380. From 2018, Toulouse will build a single superjumbo a month, down from the 2.5 it produces now. Read More » “With this prudent, proactive step we are establishing a new target for our industrial planning, meeting current commercial demand, but keeping all our options open to benefit from future A380 markets,” Airbus CEO, Fabrice Bregier, said. He added “the A380 is here to stay. We are maintaining, innovating and investing in the A380”.
Bregier has said in the past that one customer was not sufficient to persuade the Airbus’ board to launch an A380neo, even when that customer was as significant as Emirates Airline. The Dubai heavyweight has repeatedly said it would order up to 100 more A380s if Toulouse offered a re-engined variant.
Emirates is Airbus’ best customer for the aircraft. It has placed 142 firm orders of which 81 have been delivered. Sixty one of the A380 delivery backlog of 125 aircraft is destined for Emirates.
“I can’t force Toulouse to do anything,” Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates, told media at last month’s International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting in Dublin when answering questions about the carrier’s encouragement of Airbus to produce a re-engined A380.
Airbus has been struggling to find new customers in the very large aircraft (VLA) market. In January, All Nippon Airways (ANA) placed an order for three of the planes and Iran Air signed a MoU for twelve, but those were the first new orders in several years. As well, the Iran order appears uncertain.
Speaking to various delegates in Dublin, Orient Aviation understands that both IAG and Turkish Airlines are showing renewed interest in the A380, but both want them for lower prices than Airbus is prepared to offer.
Airbus rival, Boeing, is facing the same uphill battle in the VLA market. It has decided to reduce the production rate of its B747-8 from 1.3 to 0.5 aircraft a month from September.
