Emirates' decision to take up to 36 more Airbus A380s offers life-support to a programme at a point when the airframer had been openly talking about the possibility of its closure.
Airbus says it is committed to produce the A380 for "at least" another 10 years, but had recently acknowledged that Emirates was central to supporting the programme through its current period of weak sales.
"I’m personally convinced more orders will follow Emirates’ example and that this great aircraft will be built well into the 2030s," declares chief operating officer for customers John Leahy – who had warned just three days ago that, without the Middle Eastern carrier's participation, the outlook for the A380 programme was bleak.
The airframer had stated on 15 January that it was drawing up plans to reduce output to just six aircraft per year if necessary.
During the Dubai air show the two sides failed to reach an agreement on further A380 orders, a failure which became evident during a high-profile Emirates briefing.
But Emirates has underscored the A380's appeal to the Dubai-based carrier in the wake of the new commitment.
"We’ve made no secret of the fact that the A380 has been a success for Emirates," says chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
"Our customers love it, and we’ve been able to deploy it on different missions across our network, giving us flexibility in terms of range and passenger mix."
The airline has 142 of the type on order – of which 101 have been delivered – and the additional agreement, once finalised, will take the firm commitment to 162, and potentially 178 if all the options are exercised.
Some of the aircraft, says the carrier, will be used to replace older A380s in its fleet.
"We will continue to work closely with Airbus to further enhance the aircraft and on-board product, so as to offer our passengers the best possible experience," says Al Maktoum.
Emirates has not decided on the engine type to be installed on the additional jets. It has started taking Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered aircraft, after years of receiving A380s fitted with the rival Engine Alliance GP7200.
The carrier says it is "evaluating engine options" for the jets, which will be delivered from 2020. Emirates has not detailed the delivery schedule.
While Airbus has been studying an enhanced version of the A380 – which it designated the A380plus – there is no immediate indication that Emirates intends to acquire this model. The airline's discussions at the Dubai air show had centred on the current version of the double-deck jet.
Airbus has total orders for 317 A380s but the backlog has been whittled to 95 and there are doubts over whether all of these remaining aircraft will be produced.
Fifteen A380s were delivered last year – nine to Emirates, and two apiece to Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines.
But Airbus is winding down production further this year, aiming to deliver 12 aircraft, and output will be cut further, to eight, in 2019. The airframer has yet to confirm the impact of the new Emirates agreement on production rates from 2020.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
