Emirates to buy another 36 Airbus A380s in US$16bn deal

Don’t know why they are doing this. I would rather 4 B777’s at different times rather than 2 A380.

Wow massive gain there for Airbus. They won’t make a cent from these aircraft but it will keep the production line open for another 8-10 years which may gain airbus a few more orders to finally make some $$$ from this plane.

I love flying on the 380. More more more!!

I can understand why the A380 doesn't work for some airlines and most routes but for my passenger money it's the best aircraft by far to fly on and it'll be a sad day for passengers when it is phased out. This is great news!

I am sure Emirates was playing the game to get the absolute best price for these. Still it doesn't say much for the 380's longer term future if the future is so inter twined with just 1 airline.

I'm sure Emirates were holding out to get the maximum concessions out of Airbus as you would expect. However I see the future for this aircraft as one with great potential. Many airports are already slot constrained, and the commercial aviation industry continues to grow meaning more aircraft taking off and landing. If you can't get a slot you can't expand, so you fly larger aircraft between those big hubs and run smaller aircraft to feed them. As more airlines discover the need for larger aircraft over the next ten years, I have no doubt that Airbus will be able to shuffle the delivery slots so non-Emirates customers can get hold of A380s sooner. If they're able to work with their engine partners to get a NEO option on it in those 10 years I can see it getting some more orders.

Emirates A380 is great....even the economy class (on shorter flights) is quite comfy. Just having more room on the plane makes it a better flying experience.

Great news for Airbus and Emirates,having flown the a380 a couple times out of Brisbane so much better then the 777,sad to hear they are going back to 777 for some time out of Brisbane.

Great news. There is no better aircraft to fly on than the A380 as a passenger. Many seek out this aircraft type for the space and comfort.

Excellent. There's no other aircraft than the A380 that provides a better flying experience.

The flood gates for the amazing A380 will open now from Chinese airlines...this is where Airbus will make their profit.

It is a very tough decision for any airlines operating A380s. For busy hubs like Heathrow, it is no brainer A380 fits the bill perfectly. The drawbacks are how many airports are like Heathrow and also has the load of pax to be brought in on a daily basis. The new A380s with the new winglet hopefully will be fuel economical but operating a A380 still cost an arm and a leg which is not commercially viable. Airlines running A380s into Heathrow e.g. Qantas, Malaysian - they are not always full despite they have reduced frequencies. Ditching A380s altogether will only remove an option for customers seeking comfort who prefer not to squeeze into smaller aircrafts for long haul flights particularly premium passengers who used to enjoy the luxury of a bar in the upper deck. It is really a good test for Qantas on the new Perth London route otherwise the Dreamliners can be easily redeployed for the American cities or medium haul flights.

This may well go down as one of the worst airline decisions in history.

Really !!!! Seriously ????

Having flown Economy SYD-LHW Rtn on QANTAS A380's, we rate it as one of the worst air travel experiences of our lives.

We now do whatever we have to and pay whatever it costs (within reason of course) to avoid the A380 experience !!!

I have to say I love the A380. I mostly travel internationally with Emirates (for work) and in my opinion their A380 Business Class is excellent. Far superior (in may ways) to Qantas and Etihad for instance. I'm rapt that Emirates have ordered more A380's! Apart form anything else, I find that the A380 is so much quieter than other aircraft. And that's even when travelling in Economy.

We recently flew Singapore Airlines in economy, once of the older A380s,

Good news. On QF metal to LHR, DFW or LAX and when not so its EK through Dubai. The A380 is a very comfortable plane to fly in so. PS i may be in the minority but have always been happy with the run up to LHR through Dubai. The lounges there are great. Likely that I'll be flying EK exclusively to Europe and QF elsewhere

With a resale value approaching zero they have to be pretty confident of making back the capital costs. Be interesting to see if they can make them pay their way. A multi year hit to global economic growth could see Emirates capacity surge wiped out.

Love the 330s because you can do 2x2, but the Emirates a380 economy is a big plus with decent seat pitch. The Etihad a380 is squishy pitch and I’m in no hurry to use them again in Y. Even their long distance J was pretty average in terms of service. NZ 787 PE was fine, but Y is pretty ordinary. I have found both J and Y on 787 to be pretty ordinary (EY and NZ respectively). Overall the 787 experience has been disappointing... more like a bus than a long distance train. So keep up the a380s (and Lufthansa keep your 747-8s!)

Happy to hear that EK has ordered more of these fantastic planes

It appears Airbus do not expect any more carriers to order new A380's. The latest order with keep the production line open for a further 6 years. A great aircraft for the passengers but difficult to make money with for the airlines. With an empty weight of 115 tonnes greater than the B747-8 (almost 50%) the aircraft is inefficient leading to a cost imbalance.

""I’m personally convinced more orders will follow Emirates’ example and that this great aircraft will be built well into the 2030s.”"

Great news for Airbus. I hope that they make a great success of it, and that there will be much more take-up of the A380 from long-haul carriers. A great aircraft to fly in, as is the 747 - 800 series. Very suitable for long-haul intercontinental, and I believe is what passengers really like as far as comfort goes. Personally, I do not like the cramped seating in the dream liners of Boeing and similar types of aircraft from Airbus on long-hauls. Give me the A380 or 747-800 any day on long hauls.

And when Emirates almost goes bust and had to re-finance?

I agree with all the comments re saleability of second hand A380s if there is not substantial takeup by other airlines. However, as a dedicated Emirates user (platinum for several years), I must say how pleasant, quiet and well serviced their A380s are, at least at the pointy end which is where I always fly. It is an enjoyable aircraft to travel on and I look forward to many more years on them with Emirates, whose network is so convenient for me.

The a380 (along with the 748) are built for large passenger loads on hub to hub routes - simple. They are big, comfortable and spacious and what is needed. These boutique money making a350 and 789's are for secondary routes with economics in mind, not passenger comfort. Good on Emirates for keeping the a380 alive in their fleets and giving the passengers in all classes what they deserve. 18 hours in a 789 or a350 - really!!

Airbus now admit the order is for only 20 x A380's with options on a further 16. Still, 20 is better than nothing. Unfortunately there is no interest in 'used' A380's at this stage.