Emirates may shift order to A380

Dubai: Emirates airline is considering swapping the Airbus A340-600 aircraft it has ordered for larger capacity A380s, according to a Reuters interview with Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Group.

Virgin Atlantic was the launch customer for the A340-600, but chairman Richard Branson's marketing magic has not worked its normal spell.

The aircraft has been the subject of frequent bad press and last year sold just 15 units compared to 150 of the competing Boeing 777s.

More fuel efficient?

Emirates is the latest airline company to cool towards the model.

"We are either deferring the order to a later date or we are thinking of changeing and buying more of the A380s," said Shaikh Ahmad. "We require more of the bigger aircraft."

According to an Emirates spokesperson the initial decision to defer the order, announced in March, had nothing to do with disappointment with the A340-600, but a desire to get the enhanced version of the plane.

"If you knew there was a new model coming out you would wait for that, wouldn't you? You would not want a new piece of equipment you'd just bought to be superceded one month later. Our order for the A340-600 still stands. We are in close discussion with the manufacturer to ensure we have a suitable match for our requirements."

According to Boeing the the 777 outsold the A340 last year because of better fuel efficiency. However Airbus disputes the claim. Contacted by Gulf News yesterday the European manufacturer wanted to go on record by saying the A340-600 offered "better fuel efficiency and better operating costs than the 777. There's no doubt that Boeing has been very good at marketing," said the firm.

"In terms of sales the comparison being made by Boeing is unfair. If people want to make any sensible comparison they would need to compare the number of A340s and A330s sold with the combined 777 range." Airbus sold 76 A330s and A340s last year half the number of 777s.

Should Emirates switch to the A380 it would reflect increased optimism about passenger traffic and demand.

The airline will likely make a decision over the next three months, according to Shaikh Ahmad.

Emirates is also still deciding between Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and Airbus's rival A350 for a planned order of 50 mid-sized jets, and Shaikh Ahmad indicated that the carrier is in little hurry to make a decision.

He echoed recent criticisms of the A350, assailed in recent weeks by aircraft leasing companies for its lack of an all-new design to rival the 787, which was designed from scratch and contains more high-tech composites.

"We don't want to see a derivative aircraft," he said.

While the A350 is almost a complete redesign, its fuselage is based on that of the 20-year-old A330 model.

"At the end of the day I'm sure they have to listen to the operators," he said.

With input from Reuters