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Emirates Discloses Airbus A380 Delivery Schedule

PARIS - Dubai-based Emirates Airline on Wednesday disclosed its delivery schedule for double-decker Airbus A380 planes a week after the carrier’s boss signalled deliveries would slow from the end of next year.

Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, is Airbus’s biggest customer for the A380 with a total of 58 orders.

The airline is due to receive six A380s in 2010, slowing to five in 2011, Jean-Luc Grillet, head of the airline’s operations for France and the Benelux countries, told reporters, while announcing an increase in capacity on its route between Dubai and Paris. Deliveries are expected to rise to 12 in 2012 and 11 in 2013. Emirates has received five A380s so far this year, and another two - originally planned for delivery in August - will join the fleet at the end of the year, Grillet said.

The remaining 17 planes on order will be delivered from 2014 to 2016, but no detailed schedule was provided.

Grillet said that pushing back deliveries “isn’t traumatic” at a time when traffic is growing more slowly than expected. Faced with dwindling passenger traffic, a slew of airlines are cutting back their capacity expansion plans.

“It’s up to customers to disclose their delivery schedules,” an Airbus spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

Paris Service

An Emirates’ A380 super-jumbo is to serve Paris from February 1, 2010.

“This is really great news for us to bring the A380 to Paris and is a result of such encouraging sales in and out of Paris Charles de Gaulle. Our plans to introduce this exceptional aircraft have been accelerated by almost a year which, in the current economic climate, is a major achievement,” Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline, said.

Staff report with inputs from agencies