Abu Dhabi: Emirates airline said on Thursday it has retired the last Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft in its fleet from active service, making Emirates the only airline in the world to operate a fleet of all Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft for its passenger flights.
Emirates’ fleet of all Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft will have a smaller environmental impact as both aircraft types have better fuel efficiency and emissions performance than the retired aircraft, the airline said in a statement. It added that it plans to further phase out some 25 aircraft over the course of 2017 and 2018 to ensure that the operating fleet remains modern and efficient.
Emirates recently retired A6-EAK from operational service. The aircraft was the last of the 29 Airbus A330 aircraft that had been operating as part of its fleet. A6-EAK joined Emirates in 2002 and had flown for over 60,000 hours, travelling close to 45 million kilometres in 14.5 years.
Emirates also phased out A6-ERN, the last serving Airbus A340 in the fleet which had joined the airline in 2004.
Since January 2015, Emirates has retired 18 A330 and five A340 aircraft from its fleet. The average age of the Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft phased out from the fleet is 16.5 years — a figure that is well below the industry standard retirement age of 25 years, Emirates said.
By the end of 2016, Emirates will have taken delivery of 36 new aircraft; 20 Airbus A380s and 16 Boeing 777. This also includes the next generation Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with upgraded business class seats and other features including a lower fuel burn ratio. These will be delivered from November 2016.
Emirates is currently the largest operator of the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft with 85 Airbus A380s and 160 Boeing 777s in its fleet.
