Emirates to buy 60 more Airbus aircraft
by Tom Arnold on Monday, 28 July 2008
Emirates Airline has announced plans for the US $11.8bn order of 60 more aircrafts from Airbus at an event in Hamburg to mark the hand-over of the first A380 plane.
The airline revealed it had signed preliminary orders for 30 A330s and 30 A350s from the planemaker as it unveiled its first fully customised A380 to the world´s media on Monday.
Emirates will have 112 A350s on order once the letter of intent is followed by a firm contract.
Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and other executives from the carrier were given a first tour around the double-decker A380 at Airbus’s facility during the ceremony.
“The A380 is the flagship of Emirates today,” said al-Maktoum. “We may not be the first to fly the plane but we were the first to sign. The future has arrived and we at Emirates are very proud to play a part.”