Qantas officially cancels Airbus A380 order as manufacturer struggles to maintain production
Qantas initially ordered 20 A380s, but will not be taking the final eight.
Qantas's decision to cancel eight of the 20 A380s it ordered is contributing to Airbus's loss of $US4 billion ($5.65 billion) worth of contracts.
Key points:
- Qantas confirmed earlier suggestions its A380 fleet would remain at 12
- It came after Emirates began talks with Airbus about switching its A380s for smaller models
- Airbus began 2019 with a negative net total of 13 orders due to cancellations
Confirming its earlier signals, Qantas said it would not take any more of the giant planes and would stick at a fleet of 12 instead of the 20 originally ordered back in 2006.
"These aircraft have not been part of the airline's fleet and network plans for some time," a spokesman said.
"Qantas remains committed to a major upgrade of its existing A380s, which begins in mid-calendar 2019 and will see us operate the aircraft well into the future."
The cancellation confirmation came after the A380's largest customer, Emirates, began discussions with Airbus over switching some A380 orders to smaller models after it failed to secure an engine contract for its latest batch of orders.
Barring a surprise agreement to prop up the A380, Airbus is preparing to close production of the double-decker earlier than planned and could make a detailed announcement as early as its annual results on February 14, people familiar with the matter said.
An industry source said "it is the end of the A380", but Airbus declined to comment.