Emirates (EK, Dubai International) is considering acquiring additional A380-800s to both replace and expand its existing fleet airline president Timothy Clark told a press conference in Dubai this week.

According to Clarke, with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) unwilling to commit to the development of the A380neo given that Emirates is the type's only current customer, the carrier may be forced to purchase up to sixty of the ceo versions of the A380 instead.

"If they decide not to bring the neo into play, we will buy more of the current A380," Clark was quoted by the Khaleej Times. "As the first batch comes up to retirement we will want to replace those with more 380s ... If you replace over time it's a continuum of orders."

Emirates has thus far taken delivery of seventy-seven out of a total of 140 A380s currently on order from the European manufacturer.

Concerning Emirates' much awaited A350/B787 order, Clarke said evaluations were still ongoing with fifty aircraft to be ordered. He added that once a decision has been taken, the new aircraft would only arrive between 2023-25 by which time Emirates will have moved its hub from Dubai International to Dubai World Central.

Emirates scrapped a USD16 billion order placed with Airbus in 2007 for fifty A350-900s and twenty A350-1000s in June 2014. Deliveries were to have commenced from 2019 onwards.