Dubai’s Emirates receives 116th A380 aircraft, two more to follow in December

Dubai-based carrier Emirates received its 116th A380 aircraft – MSN A6-EVL – on the morning of December 6.

The aircraft was powered by a blend of conventional jet fuel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The biofuel used was produced from used cooking oil in Finland. The airline is scheduled to receive two more A380 aircraft later this month, one of which will feature its signature Premium Economy product.

Emirates welcomes its first of three @Airbus A380s to be delivered in December. The delivery flight of Emirates’ 116th A380 was partially powered by sustainable aviation fuel. https://t.co/MTqtoxZN5K#FlyEmiratesFlyBetter pic.twitter.com/IWNOthdw34

— Emirates Airline (@emirates) December 7, 2020

The A380 has been the airline’s flagship aircraft since its entry into the carrier’s fleet 12 years ago. Emirates recently reinstated its iconic products for customers to enjoy, balancing an elevated experience with measures that prioritise wellbeing of passengers during the pandemic.

Read: Dubai’s Emirates relaunches A380 onboard lounge, shower spa services

Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline said: “The A380 has been a success story for Emirates, and this is reflected in the strong customer interest wherever we’ve deployed the aircraft over the years. The A380 has helped us efficiently serve customer demand at slot constrained airports and also on trunk routes, supporting our long-haul hub operations.

“Importantly, with the space and technology on this aircraft, we’ve been able to introduce new concepts onboard that have transformed the flying experience for the better. We look forward to introducing our Premium Economy experience on which will make its debut on an A380 in the coming months, and we will continue to invest in our world-class A380 product experience. The A380 will remain our flagship for the next decade, and we will re-deploy it on more routes as travel demand returns.”

The A380 currently flies to Cairo, Amman, Paris, London, Guangzhou, Manchester and Moscow, and recently services have been ramped up to four daily A380s on London Heathrow and daily flights to Moscow.

Read more: Dubai’s Emirates ramps up A380 flights; adds services to UK and Russia

To the newest member of our family: welcome home!

We are committed to the Emirates @Airbus A380’s long-term future and will redeploy our flagship aircraft to more routes as travel demand returns.#FlyEmiratesFlyBetter pic.twitter.com/ooBenJOGTd

— Emirates Airline (@emirates) December 7, 2020

“Sustainability remains very much on our agenda at Emirates. We are watching developments in sustainable aviation fuel very closely, and we look forward to a time when it can be produced at scale, and in a cost competitive manner. Our latest A380 delivery flight was partially powered by sustainable aviation fuel and this is a positive step towards reducing our overall emissions,” Sir Tim added.

Emirates continues to support initiatives that contribute to the development of the SAF industry and the deployment of biofuels. It forms part of the steering committee of the Clean Skies for Tomorrow coalition, established by the World Economic Forum, to promote the development of SAF.

In addition to operating fuel efficient aircraft with an average age of 6.5 years, Emirates also has a comprehensive fuel efficiency programme that has implemented several initiatives including working with air navigation providers on “flex tracks”, or flexible routings that create an efficient flight plan for each flight.