Emirates A380-861 (c/n 133) A6-EEL arrives at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) on October 22, 2014.
(Photo by Michael Carter)
Emirates Airline president Tim Clark has reportedly said he would buy 100 Airbus A380neos if the European aircraft manufacturer decided to launch a re-engined version.
Clark told Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, “What we’ve said is if you are going to do the A380neo, we are in for 100 [aircraft]. We are putting it on the table; we’ll start it off for you.”
In September, ATW reported Clark has been trying to persuade Airbus to launch a re-engined A380.
Airbus COO-customers John Leahy told ATW last week in Toulouse: “If we ever do the A380neo, it will not just be the engine [that has to be exchanged] ... there will be perhaps Sharklets on the airplane … perhaps an aerodynamic cleanup as well.
But we would not do an A380neo unless there would be a 10% fuel burn reduction. And that will not come just from the engine, but from some other necessary improvements as well.” He added, “And over time, we will update every member of the [Airbus] family. We will look at it as we need to [in light of the market].”
Emirates currently operates 57 A380-800s and has committed to 140 aircraft.
“If [Airbus] were to build [the A380neo], it would give us an improvement in economics of up to 10% to 12%, so that’s definitely what we want to have. And I hope to move on that fairly soon,” Clark told ATW last June.
He added that the first 25 of an additional order of 50 A380s (ordered in November 2013) will be delivered in 2016-17, “on the old spec, so to speak,” Clark said. “The second 25 are targeted for 2020. If there will be no A380neo, we will take those 25 anyhow.
Rolls-Royce can produce a better engine, we can get more weight out of the aircraft and we can improve the aerodynamics. Up to 12%, that’s where we want to go,” he said.
(Kurt Hofmann - ATWOnline News)
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