Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) admitted during an investor call on January 15 that if Emirates does not order more A380-800s, the future of the programme will be in doubt.
"We are still talking to Emirates and quite honestly they are probably the only one in the marketplace who can take a minimum of six A380s a year for a period of eight to 10 years. If we can't work out a deal with Emirates I think there is no choice but to shut down the program," outgoing COO John Leahy said.
Airbus plans to produce twelve A380-800 at its assembly plant in Toulouse Blagnac in 2018, and reduce the production rate to just eight in 2019. Leahy said the lowest the company can go is six aircraft per year.
The European manufacturer has not sold a single aircraft of the type since early 2016, despite launching an upgraded A380plus version last year. It currently has ninety-three unfulfilled orders on its backlog, although some of these aircraft are not expected to be taken up.
Emirates is by far the largest customer of the A380 programme, having ordered 142 aircraft of the type out of the total of 317. So far, Airbus has delivered 101 A380-800s to the Emirati carrier. Negotiations with the Dubai-based airline regarding a new order fell through during last year's Dubai Air Show after the airline demanded that Airbus commits to keeping the programme alive for at least another ten years. Leahy said that the talks are still ongoing.
Airbus has also reportedly offered industrial partnership to Chinese companies, hoping to secure orders from the country.
