Originally Posted by
EchoKilla
COO AAR just had interview with Bloomberg and does state that "60-70% of A380s back in the air by December" and will keep all "115 A380s" and more "closer back office work with little bro FZ" Some excerpts:
Long-Haul Slump
Emirates, the world’s largest long-haul airline, has been hard hit by the unprecedented slump in travel caused by the coronavirus. It’s already had to rethink plans for the double-decker A380, a mainstay of its fleet, after a dearth of demand elsewhere led Airbus SE to decline to upgrade the jet and then to terminate the program early.
The Gulf carrier, also the biggest customer for the Airbus super-jumbo, plans to take the delivery of three A380s during the fiscal year ending in March, Al Redha said. While the delivery schedule for the last five planes remains unchanged, “if the need comes to re-visit, obviously we will do that.”
The COO expects 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the current A380 fleet to be back in the air by December. Load factor now exceeds 55 per cent and demand for both economy and premium travelers has strengthened, he said. The airline plans to keep all 115 of the double-decker jets.
The Dubai-based carrier will roll out premium economy seats on its newest A380 aircraft slated to be delivered in November, Al Redha said. Some of the existing fleet will be retrofitted from economy to premium economy.
Two Brands
Emirates Group is also undergoing a strategy rethink as it looking for ways to streamline operations and increase efficiencies, Al Redha said. One of the possibilities that is being considered is combining the back office operations of Emirates with discounter Flydubai, while maintaining two separate companies and identities. Both carriers are owned by Dubai’s government.
“There is definitely a scope having to look at how we can reduce the expenses and become more efficient in certain areas, even if requires combining some back office activities,” Al Redha said. , adding that the re-examination is being done for all the companies within the group, including ground-handling and catering arm Dnata.
Emirates and Flydubai have deepened their ties since 2017, embracing route rationalization to minimize duplication.
None of this makes sense. They have just decimated the A380 crews. Who will fly them all by December?