Emirates’ decision to cut its backlog by 39 A380s put an end to the short-lived career of the Super Jumbo on February 14, 2019. At the time, Airbus had announced that the A380 deliveries would cease in 2021. The current crisis affecting the aviation industry could disrupt that timetable.

It appears that the delivery of the last three Emirates A380s could be postponed by a year, according to aviation journalist Andreas Spaeth. Two are now expected in April 2022, and the last in May 2022

The new Premium Economy cabin, to be featured on the next A380 to be received, will feature rows of 8 seats with a pitch of 38 inches. A number of A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs are being refitted with the new Premium class, which should also come as standard in future A350s and 787 Dreamliners. The Boeing 777X, which could one day become Emirates’ new flagship in lieu of the A380, will also be equipped with the new cabin.

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Troubled flagship: Emirates’ Boeing 777X struggles
While the relationship is yet to begin, Emirates has become critical towards the yet-to-be certified Boeing 777X, shifting from praise to criticism towards one of its flagship aircraft.
 

On June 5, 2020, the nose part of the middle section of the last Airbus A380 to be assembled left the factory of Montoir-de-Bretagne, in western France, for the outskirts of Toulouse where the final assembly will take place.

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Final convoy for fuselage of last Airbus A380 [Video]
The parts of the last Airbus A380 superjumbo left the factory of Montoir-de-Bretagne, in western France, for the outskirts of Toulouse where the final assembly will take place. The delivery of the aircraft should take place in 2021.
 

While currently 102 out of 114 Emirates Super Jumbos are parked and only four operate regularly, the carrier remains optimistic regarding the role of the A380 in the coming future. “By end of next calendar year or the first quarter of 2022 we’ll have all our A380s flying,” Tim Clark, President of Emirates said in an interview with Bloomberg on November 25, 2020. Emirates’ giants can already be seen again in London, Paris, Cairo, Moscow and Manchester.

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Emirates expects to fly all Airbus A380 by 2022
While the Airbus A380 has largely fallen out of favor amongst other airlines, Emirates is still hopeful that the aircraft will bring them success. Airline sees its full fleet returning soon.