Airbus ends A380 jets production by 2021
AIRBUS is scrapping the world’s largest commercial jet, the double-decker A380 superjumbo aircraft, over low patronage by major carriers.
The “painful” decision puts up to 3,500 jobs at risk over the next three years. About 200 people face job uncertainty in Britain, with thousands more across the world as the aircraft is phased out by 2021.
The move comes just 12 years after the double-decker superjet first took to the skies as the UK’S challenger to United States (U.S.) company, Boeing.
The A380 model has never turned a profit, and sales have slowed dramatically as airlines favour smaller, more nimble aircraft – and Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner enjoyed greater success.
Critics of the A380 argued that the double-deckers are too large, leaving airlines with an impossible task of filling seats for commercial flights.
Analyst Richard Aboulafia of Washington-based Teal Group, said its demise “was inevitable”, adding: “For Boeing, it has been a very long time since they needed to worry about the A380 as a competitive factor.”
Rolls-royce, which makes the model’s engines, has tried to reassure the industry amid the uncertainty by saying it is unlikely to affect its workers – but the British firm failed to rule it out.
Airbus announced the “painful” decision to scrap the A380 after Emirates, its biggest customer, slashed its orders by about a quarter – as the manufacturer faced a lack of orders with other airlines.
Last month, Airbus had garnered 313 firm orders for the passenger version of the aircraft. Just 234 of those have been delivered and the firm’s original sales target was 700 planes. The A380, which is produced by Bristol-based, Airbus UK, is made across Europe in Spain, France, Germany and Britain.
The wings are made in the Broughton, north Wales, and Filton, near Bristol, then shipped to Toulouse, France, where the planes are assembled. Landing and fuel systems for the A380 are also worked on at Filton.
Outgoing Airbus Chief Executive, Tom Enders, said the decision to scrap the model was “painful” and echoed critics, who believe the plane is too big to ensure profits.
“What we’re seeing here is the end of the large fourengine aircraft,” he said. “There has been speculation for years that we were 10 years too early, but probably we were 10 years too late, or more.”