The final Airbus A380 superjumbo jet to roll off the assembly line has been delivered to Emirates airlines, marking the end of one of Europe's most ambitious yet ultimately costly aviation projects, the companies said Thursday.
It was the 123rd A380 to enter the Emirates fleet, by far the largest of the massive double-decker jets capable of carrying anywhere from 500 to 850 people -- and offering private suites and even showers onboard.
But despite glowing reviews from passengers after commercial flights began in 2007, most airlines struggled to fill the plane, making the economic prospects for operating the four-engine behemoth untenable.
Airbus pulled the plug on the program in 2019, conceding that its bet on demand for huge planes connecting a handful of global hubs had failed to pan out.
Only 251 A380s were built, compared with estimates that at least 400 needed to be sold for Airbus to recover the roughly 25 billion euros in investment and production costs.
Yet Dubai-based Emirates has insisted it will stick with the planes for its extensive long-haul flights, which serves many airports already constrained by a limited number of terminal slots.
"It gave us the opportunity to redefine the travel experience, efficiently serve demand at slot-constrained airports, and bolster our network growth," Emirates chief Tim Clark said in a statement.
Airbus returned to profit this year after the COVID pandemic prompted airlines worldwide to freeze new plane orders, and is forecasting strong demand for its popular and more cost-efficient single-aisle A320s as well as A350 wide-body jets.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2021
