London — Airbus has publicly questioned the future of the A380, saying its flagship aircraft programme risks being shut down if the manufacturer fails to win a crucial order from the plane maker’s main backer, Emirates. Emirates is the only airline with enough capacity to take enough planes to keep the programme alive, Airbus sales chief John Leahy said on Monday in an online presentation. Discussions were ongoing, he said. "I believe we can find a solution with Emirates in hopefully the not too distant future," Leahy said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "But we do need a strong base that only a big operator like Emirates can provide." Airbus has struggled to rack up sales of the superjumbo, which it argues will be needed to help increase passenger traffic at the world’s busiest airports. The firm was forced to slash production rates in July to try and stretch out the order book. Emirates, by far the biggest operator of the plane, scuttled a deal to buy 36 of the planes in Novemb...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.