Emirates First Airbus A380 - Pictures,Videos

Emirates Airbus A380

Emirates took delivery of its first Airbus A380 ‘superjumbo’ at the planemaker’s new Jürgen Thomas A380 Delivery Centre.

The aircraft was received by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman & Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, at an official handover ceremony attended by President of Emirates Airline Tim Clark; Airbus CEO Tom Enders; former Engine Alliance President, Bruce Hughes; Jürgen Thomas, the “founding father” of the A380; the 2,000 Hamburg Airbus staff directly involved in the production of the A380; 58 Emirates cabin crew, representing the number of A380s the Dubai based carrier has on firm order; international media, VIPs and other guests.

HH Sheikh Ahmed noted that while Emirates may not have been the first airline to receive the new generation aircraft, it was the first to place a firm order for it eight years ago. In July 2000 Emirates became the first airline to sign a firm commitment and place a deposit for the world’s biggest commercial aircraft, initially for seven aircraft, with five further options, collectively worth US$1.5 billion. By November 2007, the award-winning carrier had placed firm orders for 58 A380s.

Emirates is by far the biggest customer of the superjumbo which means the Emirates A380 will eventually be available on most number of international routes. If a person is travelling on an A380 there will be around a one-in-four likelihood that they will be flying Emirates. Emirates’ inaugural A380 commercial flight will depart Dubai International Airport at 1100hrs on Friday 1st August bound for New York. It will arrive at John F Kennedy International Airport at 1700hrs local time. The flight, which is already fully booked, will take between 12.5 and 13 hours, compared to 14 hours on a Boeing 777.

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