How Emirates will keep the world's largest airliner flying for years to come —even though Airbus doesn't make it anymore

Emirates has signed deals worth over $1.5 billion in an effort to keep its Airbus A380s flying.

Lutz Borck/Airbus

• Emirates announced investments of more than $1.5 billion to keep its 119-strong fleet of Airbus A380s flying.
• The quad-engine superjumbo has been the airline's flagship plane for over 15 years.
• While Airbus shut down production of the A380 in 2021, the move shows Emirates' continued commitment to the jet.

Although global airlines continue to retire the mammoth Airbus A380 in favor of more fuel-efficient twin-engine aircraft, Emirates is long from giving up on its flagship airplane.

At the Dubai Airshow in mid-November, the UAE-based carrier announced a series of investments that would keep its giant fleet of A380s flying for years to come.

The company, which is the world's largest operator of the over $400 million A380, said in a statement that it signed deals worth over $1.5 billion that will contribute to the maintenance and repair of its superjumbo.

Collins Aerospace, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, and Lufthansa Technik, among others, have all been tapped for the project to help Emirates "optimise its A380 fleet's lifespan and unlock additional operational efficiency gains, all at its exacting standards."

The companies will provide services like engine maintenance and a landing gear overhaul.

"The A380 has been and will continue to be very much part of the Emirates story," company president Sir Tim Clark said in a press release.

In total, the airline took 123 of the 251 double-deckers delivered — meaning it bought up nearly half of the world's A380s. Emirates still operates nearly 90 of its 119-strong superjumbo fleet, with plans to reinstate more "in the coming months."

"Our continued commitment to and confidence in the A380 is why we're investing heavily to keep the fleet in optimal shape and pristine condition," Clark said. "The A380 will remain core to our network and customer proposition for the next decade, and we want to ensure our fleet is in tip-top shape." 

The billion-dollar investment comes despite Airbus shutting down production of the A380 in 2021 after sending off its last double-decker to Emirates.

The planemaker ended the A380 program for myriad reasons.

Not only was the jet's popularity dwindling as airlines sought out more fuel-efficient airliners like the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787, but the company was losing money on production.

"In the end, you have to face facts, and we could see that we were building A380s faster than people were ordering them," Bob Lange, Airbus' head of business analysis and market forecast, said in 2019.

But, despite the pandemic travel lull that proved to be the nail in the coffin for many A380 fleets, Emirates is doubling down. It sees the high-capacity, long-haul aircraft as a key to powering its hub-and-spoke business model — especially as the post-pandemic travel boom continues to rage on.

A handful of other carriers, like British Airways, Qantas, and Korean Air, are following Emirates' strategy, using the A380 to maximize capacity on high-demand routes.

In a 2021 interview with CNN, former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce described the A380 as the "perfect vehicle" to handle the pent-up COVID demand, specifically pointing to routes between its Australian hubs and places like London and Los Angeles.

Emirates' recent announcement is the latest example of its commitment to the A380. In January, the first of 67 superjumbos completed its full cabin overhaul as part of Emirates' $2 billion retrofit program.

The most significant change is the addition of premium economy, a first for Emirates.

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