Emirates has celebrated the milestone delivery of its 100thAirbus A380 aircraft at a special ceremony with Airbus at the manufacturer’s delivery centre in Hamburg.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates’ Chairman and Chief Executive officiated the ceremony. He was joined at the event by Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline; Tom Enders, Airbus Chief Executive Officer; Dominic Horwood, Rolls-Royce, Director - Customer and Services; Ali Al Ahmed, UAE Ambassador to Germany and Frank Horch, Senator for Economy, Transport and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Sheikh Ahmed said, “This is a tremendous moment for Emirates, for Airbus and for our many partners involved in the A380 programme. There is no doubt that the A380 has had a big positive impact on aerospace manufacturing and the broader aviation industry, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and stimulating innovation and new product development in many related areas such as ground handling, catering, airport facilities and cabin products, to name a few.
“Importantly, the A380 also brought the flying experience for our customers to the next level. The aircraft itself is a showpiece of engineering. It is the world’s largest commercial passenger jet but it is quiet and efficient and at Emirates we’ve utilised the onboard real estate to redefine the thinking around inflight products and experience. Our flight crew love to fly it and our customers love to fly in it.
“For Emirates, the A380 has been a success. We’ve been able to utilise it at slot-constrained airports, as well as at regional and ‘secondary’ airports where we have grown passenger demand. Each time we deploy an A380 onto a route, it typically stimulates further traffic and demand as travellers are attracted by our flagship A380 experience. "We remain committed to the programme and will work closely with Airbus and our partners to continually enhance our A380 product as we look ahead to receiving our remaining 42 aircraft on order.”
Adding to the celebrations, Emirates unveiled a special tribute to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the United Arab Emirates, with bespoke livery for its 100thA380.
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