Superjumbos to keep flying ‘well into’ 2030s

Despite Airbus ceasing production in 2021, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the A380, still has a legion of fans. Although Etihad and Qatar Airways are planning to retire theirs in the next few years, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of the A380 have been greatly exaggerated.

That’s in large part because the A380’s biggest fan, Emirates, which currently flies about 90 of the planes (with 30 mothballed) has now committed $US1.5 billion ($2.234 billion) to getting the most life out of its fleet.

Like Qantas, which is eyeing 2032 to begin farewelling its fleet of 12 A380s, Dubai-based Emirates will eventually farewell its superjumbos, albeit later than the Flying Kangaroo. For now, they remain popular and busy.

In 2022, Emirates began a massive program of upgrading the interior cabins of its A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft.

The target was to completely retrofit four planes from start to finish every month, continuously for more than two years, doing 67 earmarked A380s and 53 777s. The project was set to be complete in April 2025 but Australian passengers are already experiencing the upgrade that includes the introduction of premium economy.

Emirates flies Sydney to Dubai with the aircraft three times daily, Melbourne to Dubai twice daily, and Brisbane to Dubai and Perth to Dubai once daily. Two of the three Sydney flights and both Melbourne flights are on newly refurbished planes.

Emirates currently flies the A380 to almost 50 destinations including 19 daily flights from Dubai to the UK; 14 from Dubai to the US; five from Dubai to France, nine to Germany and seven to Thailand.

The airline’s commitment to its superjumbos, announced at the Paris Air Show last year, sees “maintenance, repair and overhaul services, parts provisioning, component repairs and technical support to ensure the A380 fleet continues to meet Emirates’ exacting standards, well into the next decade”.