Airbus to scrap A380 superjumbo production as sales slump

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Airbus to scrap A380 superjumbo production as sales slump

By Tim Hepher

 

FILE PHOTO: An Emirates Airbus A380-800 aircraft takes off from Manchester Airport in Manchester, Britain September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

 

TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) - Europe's Airbus is scrapping production of the A380 superjumbo, with lackluster sales forcing it to abandon a dream of dominating the skies with a 21st century cruiseliner.

 

The world's largest airliner, with two decks of spacious cabins and room for 544 people in standard layout, was designed to challenge Boeing's legendary 747 but failed to take hold as airlines backed a new generation of smaller, more nimble jets.

 

Airbus said on Thursday the last A380 would be delivered in 2021.

 

The shake-up came after Emirates - the largest A380 customer - decided to reduce its orders for the iconic superjumbo and order a total of 70 of the smaller A350 and A330neo instead.

 

"It was a painful decision for us. We have invested a lot of effort, a lot of resources and a lot of sweat...but obviously we need to be realistic," Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said.

 

Airbus said it would enter talks with unions in coming weeks over the 3,000-3,500 jobs potentially affected.

 

It took a charge of 463 million euros for shutdown costs, but is expected to be forgiven some 1 billion euros of outstanding European government loans under a funding system that stands at the center of a trade dispute with Boeing.

 

Airbus will produce 17 more of the planes including 14 for Emirates and 3 for Japanese airline ANA.

 

As part of the restructuring, Emirates placed a new order for 40 A330-900neo jets and 30 A350-900 aircraft, partially restoring a purchase of A350s which it canceled in 2014.

 

Responding to behind-the-scenes concerns from airline customers from Asia to Europe, Enders stressed Airbus would continue to support the A380 as long as it remains in service.

 

LEADING BUYER 'DISAPPOINTED'

Emirates, which had built its global brand around the A380 and Boeing 777 and which also has 100 of the Airbus superjumbos in its fleet, said it was disappointed by the closure.

 

"Emirates has been a staunch supporter of the A380 since its very inception," said Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum.

 

"While we are disappointed to have to give up our order, and sad that the program could not be sustained, we accept that this is the reality of the situation," he added.

 

The decision came after Emirates failed to reach an engine agreement with Britain's Rolls-Royce, which said on Thursday it noted the decision to shut down the program.

 

The A380 will remain a pillar of the Emirates fleet well into the 2030s, the airline said.

 

Emirates' local rival Etihad of Abu Dhabi also disclosed it was cutting some Airbus and Boeing jet orders, highlighting growing questions over the growth of Gulf airlines.

 

Making its maiden flight in 2005, the A380 was a major step in Airbus's efforts to compete on equal terms with Boeing and challenge what had been a cash cow for its arch-rival.

 

But sales of the industry's largest four-engined jets have fallen due to improvements in lighter twin-engined alternatives, such as the Boeing 787 and 777 or Airbus's own A350.

 

The prospect of a premature halt to A380 production emerged last month as part of a restructuring of orders first reported by Reuters.

 

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Airbus was poised to axe the superjumbo and would likely give an update on Thursday.

 

The decision to scrap production is the last major step by Enders, who steps down in April.

 

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Alexander Smith)

 



-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-02-14

[Yellowtail]

Yeah, deciding to try to compete with the B747 even as Boeing was cycling the program down was foolish. 

 

 

[canopus1969]

Shame, the most comfortable plane to travel on by far

[Lannig]

Crying shame, really. The A380 is a great experience in flying: quiet, smooth, roomy. I really hate the loud B777 you get to fly on the same long-haul routes. Definitely my main reason for choosing Emirates or Etihad (when they fly it over one leg of the Europe<->Thailand trip at least) over other companies.

Weird for Emirates to be "disappointed" since their cancellation of the outstanding order is the main reason for the shutdown. They basically killed it.

[Yellowtail]

11 minutes ago, Lannig said:

Crying shame, really. The A380 is a great experience in flying: quiet, smooth, roomy. I really hate the loud B777 you get to fly on the same long-haul routes. Definitely my main reason for choosing Emirates or Etihad (when they fly it over one leg of the Europe<->Thailand trip at least) over other companies.

Weird for Emirates to be "disappointed" since their cancellation of the outstanding order is the main reason for the shutdown. They basically killed it.

At some point, even Emirates can't continue hemorrhaging money.

[Cryingdick]

The A380 was one of the dumbest corporate blunders in history. 

[impulse]

8 hours ago, canopus1969 said:

Shame, the most comfortable plane to travel on by far

 

If they're set up correctly, most planes are very comfortable.  The discomfort comes when the airlines try to squeeze in more seats by reducing legroom and decreasing seat width.

 

I'm old enough to remember when one of the selling points of the 747 was a piano bar in the top lounge.  Of course, that was before deregulation when it cost a year's salary to fly to Asia, and a week's salary to fly cross country, and people bought their tickets based on service and comfort because they all charged the same fares.

 

Nowadays, we vote with our money.  Sadly, most people (myself included) vote for cheap seats.  Eventually, they would have figured out how to pack more butts into the A380 and make them into cattle cars, just like they have done for the 747's.  If they had been able to sell all 800+ passengers that could fit into the A380's, they'd still be buying them and packing us in like sardines.

 

[Cryingdick]

3 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

If they're set up correctly, most planes are very comfortable.  The discomfort comes when the airlines try to squeeze in more seats by reducing legroom and decreasing seat width.

 

I'm old enough to remember when one of the selling points of the 747 was a piano bar in the top lounge.  Of course, that was before deregulation when it cost a year's salary to fly to Asia, and a week's salary to fly cross country, and people bought their tickets based on service and comfort because they all charged the same fares.

 

Nowadays, we vote with our money.  Sadly, most people (myself included) vote for cheap seats.  Eventually, they would have figured out how to pack more butts into the A380 and make them into cattle cars, just like they have done for the 747's.  If they had been able to sell all 800+ passengers that could fit into the A380's, they'd still be buying them and packing us in like sardines.

 

 

This is true. A380 become less comfortable when you rearrange the seats to squeeze two more rows in to pay for the huge amount of fuel it consumes.

[SheungWan]

Now that the A380 is removed from the BKK-HKG and BKK-SYD routes I guess that's it for me. 

[Aforek]

Sad, wonderful plane, silent … I was lucky to travel with it several times from Europe to BKK 

[Yellowtail]

3 hours ago, SheungWan said:

Now that the A380 is removed from the BKK-HKG and BKK-SYD routes I guess that's it for me. 

So you'll quit traveling? A little harsh isn't it?

[SheungWan]

4 hours ago, SheungWan said:

Now that the A380 is removed from the BKK-HKG and BKK-SYD routes I guess that's it for me. 

 

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

So you'll quit traveling? A little harsh isn't it?

Ha-ha. 

[natway09]

The A 350 looks like being the new competition to the 777 which has been (& still is)

very successful & great to travel in even in cattle class as long as they do not do what Emirates did & configure an extra seat  in the middle. For long haul it just makes it too cramped.

The sheer internal volume of the A 380 makes it a pleasure to fly in though

[ozfarang]

14 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

The A380 was one of the dumbest corporate blunders in history. 

And Emirates dumbest corporate blunder for ordering so many. Going to be very hard to off-load the A380 in the years to come as there is no second hand market. SQ's first two aircraft have ended up as spare parts and scrap metal.

Big twins are the future of commercial aviation.

[ncc1701d]

Passengers do like the a380. The problem is, as with the a340 before it, the airlines hate it. It didn’t come close to the efficiencies and lifting capability it was promised by airbus. I’m surprised it lasted this long.

[Yellowtail]

6 minutes ago, ozfarang said:

And Emirates dumbest corporate blunder for ordering so many. Going to be very hard to off-load the A380 in the years to come as there is no second hand market. SQ's first two aircraft have ended up as spare parts and scrap metal.

Big twins are the future of commercial aviation.

 

That was the bet Boeing made 25 years ago with the 777.

[sqwakvfr]

Took a lot of flights on the A380 with Emirates and it was great.  I just crossed the Pacific on an A350-900ULR and it was fantastic.  For Airbus the A380 might go down in history as a blunder but the A350-900ULR will and has revolutionized long haul aviation.  Looking for my next trip across the Pacific on the A350-900ULR.

[Yellowtail]

17 minutes ago, ncc1701d said:

Passengers do like the a380. The problem is, as with the a340 before it, the airlines hate it. It didn’t come close to the efficiencies and lifting capability it was promised by airbus. I’m surprised it lasted this long.

 

 

I can't speak to that, but on an Emirates flight from Dubai to LAX they had to stop and put more fuel on at SFO.

 

How odd is that?

[Yellowtail]

13 minutes ago, ozfarang said:

And Emirates dumbest corporate blunder for ordering so many. Going to be very hard to off-load the A380 in the years to come as there is no second hand market. SQ's first two aircraft have ended up as spare parts and scrap metal.

Big twins are the future of commercial aviation.

 

They can run them for another 20-30 years, and unlike a lot of carriers, they don't have to be profitable...

[ozfarang]

12 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

They can run them for another 20-30 years, and unlike a lot of carriers, they don't have to be profitable...

Fair point, but when almost half of the fleet is the A380 and if fuel prices rise in the coming years it will be a huge financial burden.

The big twins are up to 40%(B777X) more fuel efficient.

[Yellowtail]

2 minutes ago, ozfarang said:

Fair point, but when almost half of the fleet is the A380 and if fuel prices rise in the coming years it will be a huge financial burden.

The big twins are up to 40%(B777X) more fuel efficient.

And when they often have cattle-class passengers in 80% of the business class seats it's tough to make money. 

 

Gotta love their lounges though...

[Basil B]

a really great aircraft but it's downfall like with Concord it is not made by Boeing, and the world is not a level playing field, easy to spot the American posters on this topic. 

[Yellowtail]

1 minute ago, Basil B said:

a really great aircraft but it's downfall like with Concord it is not made by Boeing, and the world is not a level playing field, easy to spot the American posters on this topic. 

Another Kool-Aid drinker making unsubstantiated claims. 

 

How is it Boeing's fault that most companies would rather trade with the US than Europe?

 

How is it Boeing's fault some companies need to remain profitable?

 

No post some links to moronic websites you claim substantiate your idiocy. 

 

[Grouse]

23 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Yeah, deciding to try to compete with the B747 even as Boeing was cycling the program down was foolish. 

 

 

You can say that with 20/20 hindsight 

 

At the time Airbus wanted to offer a complete range including a giant hub to hub mass transport.

 

Technological masterpiece. My favourite long haul business class aircraft.

[Yellowtail]

Just now, Grouse said:

iYou can say that with 20/20 hindsight 

 

At the time Airbus wanted to offer a complete range including a giant hub to hub mass transport.

 

Technological masterpiece. My favourite long haul business class aircraft.

2

 

Of course it's hindsight, but there was no shortage of nay-sayers (Boeing included) before it went into production. 

 

I guess the size makes it something of a technological masterpiece, but it did go into service almost 40 years after the B747, and it took over two years from first flight to in-service.

 

To be clear, it's my favorite long haul business class aircraft as well. But would I pay significantly more to fly it over any other late model aircraft? No, I would not.

[Grouse]

4 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

 

Of course it's hindsight, but there was no shortage of nay-sayers (Boeing included) before it went into production. 

 

I guess the size makes it something of a technological masterpiece, but it did go into service almost 40 years after the B747, and it took over two years from first flight to in-service.

 

To be clear, it's my favorite long haul business class aircraft as well. But would I pay significantly more to fly it over any other late model aircraft? No, I would not.

I liked the DC10 very much

 

That was before they let peasants fly and price was everything!

 

I still dress properly for a flight ????

[steve187]

5 hours ago, natway09 said:

The A 350 looks like being the new competition to the 777 which has been (& still is)

very successful & great to travel in even in cattle class as long as they do not do what Emirates did & configure an extra seat  in the middle. For long haul it just makes it too cramped.

The sheer internal volume of the A 380 makes it a pleasure to fly in though

most airlines have made the B777 3/4/3

[Grouse]

7 minutes ago, steve187 said:

most airlines have made the B777 3/4/3

Not in business in 777-300ER

 

They should make economy seats hexagonal to maximise packing density

[steve187]

1 hour ago, Grouse said:

Not in business in 777-300ER

 

They should make economy seats hexagonal to maximise packing density

they have more than likely thought of that, but at the moment its normal seats in a 3/4/3 configuration in a plane designed for 3/3/3

[55Jay]

7 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

Took a lot of flights on the A380 with Emirates and it was great.  I just crossed the Pacific on an A350-900ULR and it was fantastic.  For Airbus the A380 might go down in history as a blunder but the A350-900ULR will and has revolutionized long haul aviation.  Looking for my next trip across the Pacific on the A350-900ULR.

Was that SQ?