The A380 will not be stopped. After some news that the program was close to being stopped without further orders for the largest commercial aircraft in the world, the European manufacturer Airbus wanted to specify that the statements of the chief operating officer and president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, Fabrice Bregier , who this year will leave office, and commercial director John Leahy , also close to farewell, have been misunderstood.
“We see a bright future for the A380 – the Airbus spokesperson told Corriere della Sera -. Air traffic doubles every 15 years and this is the plane that can solve the problem. There is enthusiasm from the market. Airports cannot handle any more airplanes and it takes means like this to decongest them ”.
The story starts from the failure to maxi-order of the main operator of the program, Emirates, which today has one hundred A380s in the fleet and has orders for 142 aircraft, the announcement of which was expected during the last edition of the Dubai Air Show. The company, with which Airbus has been in discussion for some time, as confirmed by Leahy himself, who nevertheless said he was “confident” about the achievement of a new agreement, would in fact be interested in the re-motorized version of the super jumbo, the A380 neo, whose launch is struggling to take off due to the costs and development risks associated with it. To slow down the market release of the “new engine option” (which would follow in chronological order the A320 neo and A330 neo) of one of the most popular aircraft by passengers all over the world, also the accumulated delays and over costs from another large aircraft,
Last July, Airbus announced its intention to slow production of the A380, now used by 13 airlines, from 15 to 12 aircraft a year in 2018 and to eight in 2019, hoping to have a sufficient number of new ones in the meantime. orders to maintain a profitable rate. At the same time, it unveiled the “plus” version of the aircraft, which Emirates itself seems interested in, which offers an increased range, greater passenger capacity and a 4% reduction in fuel compared to the previous version. “By guaranteeing the passenger – reads the Airbus website – the same travel experience”. The plus program also features winglets at the wing tips and other aerodynamic improvements. A380 apart, in whose program Italy also participates with a 5% share of the aircraft fuselage,
The number of deliveries was more than 4% higher than the previous record set in 2016 with 688 aircraft. In particular, the European manufacturer delivered 558 single-aisle aircraft of the A320 Family (of which 181 A320neo – an increase of 166% compared to 2016); 67 A330; 78 A350 XWB (+ 60%) and 15 A380. The performance is accompanied by excellent results in terms of orders. In fact, Airbus recorded over 1,109 net orders from 44 customers. At the end of 2017, the global backlog numbered 7,265 aircraft, with a list value of 1,059 billion dollars. “We have set a new delivery record, a success that adds to the fifth best order level, and that completes a year that is remarkable for us. This result strengthens our company and ensures that it is able to seize future opportunities “,