“We will keep it going as long as possible,” Clark said at the recent Dubai Airshow. It wasn’t to be, and Airbus eventually pulled the plug on its most prestigious aircraft. Most of the upgrades are done in-house, and the state-owned carrier has designed the operations to be largely self-sufficient as the A380 becomes an increasingly rare sight in the sky over the next decade.Įmirates president Tim Clark long lobbied Airbus to keep the A380, or to at least consider new engines to make it more efficient. To date, 16 planes have received their retrofit and are back in operation, while two are undergoing refurbishment. But surging travel demand has heightened the need for aircraft in the skies, meaning Emirates is fast-tracking the overall maintenance process. The carrier originally estimated the refurbishment, which encompasses half of its A380 fleet, would take about two years in total. AFPĮmirates received its last A380 in 2021, and the entire fleet remains relatively young at about 10 years on average. The airline is the only company that still regularly operates the Airbus A380, with more than 100 of the jumbo aircraft in its fleet. Emirates says one aircraft alone sheds more than 250kg of seat leather and more than 600kg of other fabric, which the airline has decided to use for a limited edition collection of shoes, belts and backpacks, fitted with on-board trimmings like seat belts or the lambskin covers on pilot seats. Given the size of the planes – a typical A380 comes with about 550 seats on two decks – the overhaul produces vast amounts of recyclable materials. Other aircraft in its stable are either too small to perform the same job, like the A350-900 coming next year, or – like the Boeing 777X – they’re years behind original delivery schedule, meaning Emirates must hold onto the A380s for longer than previously planned. For the world’s largest international carrier, the A380 represents its ambition to connect as many people as possible via its Dubai hub. The cabin refresh alone accounts for half the investment, dubbed the Phoenix Project.įor Emirates, the upgrade is more than just a routine touch-up common in airline fleets. The popular business class bar, where passengers can mingle during flight and enjoy a glass of whiskey, will stay. Gone are the gold trimmings and wood panelling that dominated the first iteration, with Emirates opting for lighter tones, fresh carpeting and mood lighting, along with depictions of local nature motifs. At a sprawling hangar near Dubai’s main airport recently, two A380s were being gutted and retrofitted with everything from new berths to fresh stairwells. With no new planes available, Emirates is embarking on a massive US$2bil (RM9.36bil) refurbishment programme of the giant aircraft, seeking to extend their lifespan into the early 2040s. Airbus itself pulled production in 2019 after little more than a decade of slow sales. The Dubai carrier still operates more than 100 of the giant double-deckers, whereas rivals have either given up on the behemoth entirely or fly it only in small numbers. Unlike any other airline on the planet, Emirates made the Airbus SE A380 jumbo jet a cornerstone of its fleet.
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