Emirates Orders 32 More A380

During Major Expansion Plan

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Coastweek -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel [centre left] tours the cabin with His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum [centre right] of the Emirates Airbus A380 flown to the Berlin airshow for the event.

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THE AIRLINES A380 SUPERJUMBO TO MAKE A MUCH
ANTICIPATED RETURN TO NEW YORK ON 31ST OCTOBER

Coastweek -- Emirates Airline, the Dubai-based international airline has placed an order with Airbus for an additional 32 A380 aircraft taking the total firm order for the iconic flagship of the 21st century to 90 super-jumbos.

The order for the additional aircraft has a list price of USD $ 11.5 billion.

The agreement was signed recently during a ceremony at the Berlin Air Show by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group and Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO which was witnessed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other dignitaries.

“This latest order, adding to 58 A380s previously ordered, affirms Emirates’ strategy to become a world leading carrier and to further establish Dubai as a central gateway to worldwide air travel.

“The A380 is our flagship in terms of passenger comfort, innovation, operating and environmental efficiency and revenue generation,” said H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al- Maktoum.

“Our latest commitment signals Emirates’ confidence in the growth to come in a thriving aviation sector as we build our fleet for tomorrow,” he added.

“Emirates supported the development of the A380 from the earliest days, a project employing tens of thousands of Europe’s best people and today’s increased order, is the best endorsement I can imagine.

“On behalf of all of us at Airbus, we thank Emirates for their support.

“The A380 is indeed a remarkable eco-efficient aircraft, a profit generator for airlines and a great flying experience for passengers,” said Tom Enders.

Meanwhile, Emirates’ A380 superjumbo will make a much-anticipated return to New York on 31st October, the airline has announced.

The aircraft’s reinstatement on one of Emirates’ double daily JFK routes comes as the carrier reported a significant increase in revenue for the Americas in 2009-10, representing a year-on-year rise of 8.1 percent.

Growth in the Americas helped steer the airline to a net profit of US $ 964 million, while 27.5 million passengers flew with Emirates over the last financial year, over 20 percent more than in 2008- 09.

“We promised to return the A380 to New York as soon as demand recovered and we have been true to our word,” said Emirates Airline President Tim Clark.

He continued: “Against some of the toughest operating conditions ever faced, the results for the Americas have been hugely encouraging.

“This achievement reflects our success in maintaining our business as usual approach and remaining faithful to our strategy of product and service excellence,”

“As we look to 2010-11 and beyond, Emirates will continue to invest in its products and services to build on the resurgent demand for air travel within the Americas.

“Our plans for the future also include adding new US cities to our four existing gateways: New York, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.”

Emirates’ expansion plans for the region will be boosted by a significant increase in capacity.

The airline is scheduled to receive 11 new wide-body aircraft in 2010, including Boeing 777s.

Emirates currently operates eight A380 aircraft, serving London Heathrow, Toronto, Paris, Jeddah, Bangkok, Seoul, Sydney and Auckland.

In March 2010, the airline also announced the start of A380 services to Beijing from 1st August and Manchester from September.

Additionally, Emirates has announced six new routes for 2010.

They are Tokyo, which was launched on 28th March, Amsterdam which was launched on 1st May, Prague and Baghdad which will be launched on 1st July, Madrid slated for 1st August and Dakar which will be launched on 1st September.

Emirates, the second largest airline in the world in available seat kilometres, is on track to become one of the largest airlines in the world.

In addition to the orders placed 32 A380s, Emirates has 48 Airbus 380s, 70 Airbus 350s, 18 Boeing 777-300s and seven Boeing air freighters on order totaling 143 wide-body aircraft worth more than $US 48 billion.

In a year where the aviation industry was rocked by the economic downturn, Emirates Airline recently reported its 22nd year of profit, up 416 percent to close at US$ 964 million over its 2008-09 profits of US$ 187 million.

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Coastweek -- Seated at the table making today’s announcement: H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group [left] with Tom Enders, President and CEO, Airbus [right]. Looking on in the back row, left to right: John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer -Customers, Airbus; Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline; Angela Merkel, German Chancellor; Rainer Brüderle, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology; Dr. Peter Ramsauer, Minister of Transport; Louis Gallois, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus.