Airbus has just four A380 aircraft left to deliver. The European aerospace giant decided to end its four-engine double-decker program in February 2019 and will deliver its last A380 next year. All four outstanding deliveries are bound for Dubai-based giant, Emirates.
Sadly, the Airbus A380 program never panned out how Airbus would’ve hoped. A little over a decade after the jet was first delivered to launch customer Singapore Airlines, the plug was pulled on the program. It seems the aircraft was the right aircraft at the wrong time, and the situation has only deteriorated in the past year and a half.
Four A380s left to deliver
As the A380 program is wound up, Airbus is left with just four of the aircraft left to deliver. All four have taken their first flight, meaning that construction of the giants at the company’s Toulouse facility has finished.
According to data from ch-aviation.com, we should expect to have seen the last Airbus A380 delivered this time next year. The following deliveries are planned,
- A6-EVO – MSN 268 – June 2021
- A6-EVQ – MSN 270 – January 2022
- A6-EVR – MSN 271 – March 2022
- A6-EVS – MSN 272 – May 2022
Emirates is the largest operator of the Airbus A380, with 118 currently in the fleet. According to ch-aviaion.com, 22 of these are now active, while one more was previously retired on top of the current 118. With the additional four to be delivered, Emirates will have operated 123 A380s.
In 2018, Airbus gave the list price of the A380 at $445.6 million. These aircraft will likely never be worth this much, especially with no second-hand market. Airlines don’t pay the list price of an aircraft, although exactly what they do spend is a closely guarded commercial secret. Emirates likely got a healthy discount on its order. In May, Emirates took delivery of the first A380 of 2021, with ch-aviation.com listing its current market value at $110.6 million at the time.
Which airlines will still fly the Airbus A380?
Many airlines have been retiring their A380 fleets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. One, Air France, even committed to withdrawing the fleet before the pandemic began. While it looks like the age of the A380 is over for some airlines, quite a few remain committed to flying the aircraft moving forwards.
Here is each airline’s current stance on the Airbus A380,
- Air France – Entire fleet retired
- All Nippon Airways – Will fly all three A380s
- Asiana Airlines – No retirements planned
- British Airways – Will fly A380 again, no retirements announced
- China Southern Airlines – Unsure of the aircraft’s future
- Emirates – Already flying the A380 again
- Etihad Airways – Aircraft parked indefinitely
- Hi Fly – The only aircraft was retired
- Korean Air – No plans revealed
- Lufthansa – 6/14 aircraft retired, remaining eight unlikely to return
- Malaysia Airlines – To retire A380s in coming months
- Qantas – Set to fly the A380 again, possibly from 2023
- Qatar Airways – Sees no future for its A380 aircraft
- Singapore Airlines – 12/24 A380s retired, no plans to retire remaining aircraft
- Thai Airways – No firm plans revealed for the A380 fleet
Will you miss the Airbus A380 program? Let us know what you think and why in the comments.
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