Originally Posted by
bindog
^ That is massively face-saving for Airbus. Expectation was they would sign a 30 x A380 deal with Emirates, but nothing - Emirates reportedly require guarantees the A380 will stay in production for another 10 years. But with Emirates shaping up as possibly the only ongoing customer, that might not happen. So we may have witnessed the beginning of the end of the A380. Hope was it would struggle on until new engine tech made a 'NEO' version possible.
Airbus is undergoing a corruption probe of some sort, and new orders had dried up quite dramatically this year.
On top of the A380 non-event at this Dubai airshow, Boeing / Emirates announced a deal for 50 x 787-10 during the show. That after Emirates cancelled an order for 70 x A350 three years ago, deciding they needed to re-evaluate the A350 against the 787 for the regional role.
What saddens me is the 787 seems to be winning the war against the A350. Bean counters winning out over passenger comfort.