Page 16 - AAA SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022 Online Magazine

RETURN OF THE

SUPER JUMBO

EMIRATES IS BENEFITING FROM THE (ANA).
ADDITIONAL CAPACITY PROVIDED Emirates is the largest customer for the A380
BY ITS A380 FLEET having taking delivery of a total 123 aircraft.
It was the launch customer for the A380 in the
year 2000 and eventually took delivery of its
 ATUL CHANDRA last and 123rd aircraft in December 2021. The
A380 allowed Emirates to redefine the travel
Airbus’ A380 is facing a revival in its fortunes with the global experience and efficiently serve demand at
rebound in air travel requiring carriers to swiftly introduce addi- slot-constrained airports, while bolstering its
tional capacity on international sectors. Many had believed the network growth. Emirates, operating from a
COVID-19 pandemic to be the death knell for the ‘Super Jumbo’ unique geographical position in the Middle
with Emirates taking delivery of the last A380 built in December East, used the A380 to connect Dubai with
2021. all the world’s airports such as Johannesburg,
However, the carrier’s A380 fleet is now proving invaluable to London, Los Angeles, São Paulo, Singapore
Emirates which has plans to deploy the aircraft to 42 destina- or Sydney.
tions by the end of March 2023. Emirates currently operates
the A380 to 32 destinations. Emirates and other operators of Rapid Ramp-Up

the A380 are using the double-decker type to cope with the
unprecedented demand for air travel, which is the strongest it’s Emirates will have recovered 75 per cent of its
been in more than two years. pre-pandemic A380 network by the end of the
year, serving close to a third of its network on
The world’s largest operator of the A380, Emirates has 118 of 85 A380s. It will unlock more destinations like
the double-decker aircraft in its fleet. It took delivery of a total Houston, Bengaluru, Perth, Auckland, Hong
of 123 A380s from Airbus. The carrier’s first reactivated A380 Kong and Kuala Lumpur, with additional
(A6-EVF) which resumed flying in 2020 has clocked in more than cities to be announced in the coming weeks.
31,000 trips worldwide, carrying over 10 million passengers. Emirates is already optimising its network to
meet robust demand and enhancing its exist-
The global fleet of A380s has made over 800,000 flights, carrying ing schedules, which will result in over 400
over 300 million passengers, since the type’s entry into service in A380 departures from Dubai, by March 2023,
2007. The A380 began commercial operations in October 2007 offering 460,000 weekly A380 seats includ-
with Singapore Airlines and 251 aircraft were eventually ordered ing 81,000 seats across its premium cabins.
by 14 airlines – Asiana, British Airways, China Southern, Emirates,
Etihad, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar In August, Emirates announced that it will
Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and All Nippon Airways restore its non-stop A380 services to and

16 | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA