Six thousand aeroplanes in forty years
Airbus Industrie has just delivered the six thousandth Airbus in its 40-year history.
The Airbus A380 was handed over to Emirates Airline in a ceremony in Hamburg, and is Emirates’ eighth A380.
With a total order for 58 aircraft, Emirates is the single largest customer for the A380. Established in 1985, the UAE carrier became an Airbus operator from the outset, and its Airbus fleet has grown to 55 aircraft with a further 121 on order.
Accepting delivery of the new aircraft, Adel Al Redha, Executive Vice President, Emirates’ Engineering and Operations, said: “The A380 represents the future of air travel and our strength and determination to drive forward, alongside Airbus, to meet our ambitious expansion plans and traffic demand. If a powerful demonstration of the resilience of the aviation industry was required, today has provided that. All who have flown the A380 will realise that this is a very special aircraft, embracing the latest in passenger comfort, technology and environmental credentials.”
Airbus Industrie was formed in 1969 as a consortium of European aircraft manufacturers to take on the growing market strength of the US manufacturers, at that time represented by Boeing, Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas. By 2005 Airbus had reached more than 50 per cent of western world deliveries in a single year, of all aircraft with over 100 seats. It also took the European manufacturing conglomerate some 30 years after its initial creation to bypass its main competitor in terms of sales volume, and it now claims around half the global airliner market share.
