The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Airbus scraps A380 jet as sales slump
Airbus has announced it will end production of its flagship A380 superjumbo, potentially putting UK jobs at risk.
The firm said it had made the “painful” decision after struggling to sell the world’s largest passenger jet and after Emirates chose to slash its A380 order book by around a quarter.
Due to the reduction and a lack of order backlog with other airlines, Airbus said it would end deliveries of the recordbreaking plane in 2021 – just 14 years after it first entered commercial service.
Emirates is yet to take delivery of 14 of the aircraft – the wings, engines and landing gear for which are made in the UK.
Airbus said it would “start discussions with its social partners in the next few weeks regarding the 3,000 to 3,500 positions potentially impacted over the next three years”.
Around 200 of those are in Britain. The firm said an increase in production of its A320 model would offer “a significant number of internal mobility opportunities”.
Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said: “The A380 is not only an outstanding engineering and industrial achievement. Passengers all over the world love to fly on this great aircraft.
“Hence today’s announcement is painful for us and the A380 communities worldwide.
“But keep in mind that A380s will still roam the skies for many years to come and Airbus will, of course, continue to fully support the A380 operators.”
Airbus said Emirates had chosen to reduce its order of A380s from 162 to 123 aircraft following a “review of its operations, and in light of developments in aircraft and engine technologies”.
Meanwhile, the UAE carrier is buying more of the smaller A330-900 and A350-900 aircraft, purchasing 40 and 30 respectively.
“As a result of this decision, we have no substantial A380 backlog and hence no basis to sustain production, despite all our sales efforts with other airlines in recent years,” Mr Enders said.