Airbus squeezed in under the A380 delivery wire yesterday, handing over Emirates’ fourth aircraft to reach its target of 12 for the year overall.
Thirteen of the big Airbuses are now in airline hands. Launch operator Singapore Airlines received its first in 2007 and now has six in service out of a total of 19 on order. Emirates plans to receive another 54 for a total of 58, and Qantas has three with a further 17 on order.
“We have met our 2008 delivery schedule,” said Airbus chief executive Tom Enders. “This gives us a good basis to further ramp up our production in 2009.”
The in-service A380 fleet has accumulated over 21,000 revenue hours in more than 2,200 commercial flights, carrying in excess of 890,000 passengers. The aircraft operated by SIA, Emirates and Qantas link Singapore with Sydney, London and Tokyo, Dubai with New York and London, and Sydney and Melbourne with Los Angeles, with London to be added in two weeks’ time.
Airbus aims to deliver 21 A380s next year. Air France, China Southern and Lufthansa will receive the first of their respective orders for 12, five and 15 in the coming 12 months. The Air France aircraft will be fitted with Thales’ TopSeries i-5000 audio/video-on-demand IFE, the China Southern and Lufthansa aircraft with Panasonic’s eX2. The Panasonic system also equips the Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas A380s. British Airways, due to receive the first of 12 A380s in 2012, and Etihad (first of 10 in 2013) have opted for the Thales system.
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