Emirates Takes Delivery of 100th Airbus A380

[HD video below] Emirates took delivery of its 100th Airbus A380 aircraft on Friday.

Powered by Rolls-Royce engines, Emirates’ 100th A380 is configured in three cabin classes, with 14 private suites in First class, 76 seats in Business and 426 seats in Economy. It also features the airline’s newly revamped Onboard Lounge.

The aircraft has been painted in a special livery of the late HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the United Arab Emirates.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates’ Chairman and Chief Executive, said, “For Emirates, the A380 has been a success. We’ve been able to utilise it at slot-constrained airports, as well as at regional and ‘secondary’ airports where we have grown passenger demand. Each time we deploy an A380 onto a route, it typically stimulates further traffic and demand as travellers are attracted by our flagship A380 experience. We remain committed to the programme and will work closely with Airbus and our partners to continually enhance our A380 product as we look ahead to receiving our remaining 42 aircraft on order.”

The Emirates A380 programme creates and supports manufacturing jobs across the global aircraft manufacturing supply chain. Airbus estimates that Emirates’ A380 orders alone support 41,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Europe, including some 14,500 in Germany alone. These are high-skilled jobs and impact a high-value supply chain, creating a significant multiplier effect in the countries where Airbus has aircraft production facilities. The estimated Europe-wide impact of Emirates’ A380 investment amounts to €3.4 billion in GDP in 2013/14. In Germany and France the GDP impact is €1.2 billion for each country.

“We are extremely proud of our long-standing relationship with Emirates – a partnership that has been integral to the A380 programme,” said Tom Enders. “It is a source of immense satisfaction for everyone at Airbus that such a visionary airline has believed in the A380 from the beginning and chosen it as its flagship and the backbone of its operations. And, of course, it is always exciting to hear positive feedback from our customers and passengers about the aircraft, while associating it with Dubai’s success as the world’s most dynamic air transport hub.”

The introduction of Emirates’ first A380 in 2008 set new standards for customer experience, introducing many industry firsts including the Onboard Lounge, Shower Spas, free wi-fi and advanced inflight entertainment systems in all classes, as well as many other features.

The airline has implemented countless improvements on board its A380 fleet since 2008, ranging from subtle updates such as the addition of in-seat USB ports and introduction of electric window blinds, to more major upgrades such as relocating overhead luggage bins to provide a more spacious cabin, installing bigger and better inflight entertainment systems and a newly revamped Onboard Lounge.

The airline receives on average 11 A380 deliveries per year, starting from its first aircraft in August 2008. In its 2016/17 financial year, Emirates received a record 19 new A380 aircraft.

Emirates has 1,500 flight deck crew and over 23,000 cabin crew specially trained to operate its A380 fleet and over 85 million passengers have already flown on the Emirates A380.

Emirates' 100th Airbus A380 aircraft will be on display at the upcoming Dubai Air Show and will enter service afterwards.

Delivery Ceremony of Emirates' 100th Airbus A380

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