Emirates welcomed their 116th Airbus A380 on Saturday, MSN-EVL, the first of three new A380s the carrier will receive in December. The carrier will receive two more super jumbos this month, one of which will be configured with their signature Premium Economy product.
Today (December 7, 2020), Emirates announced that they have received their 116th Airbus A380 (MSN A6-EVL), one of three new super jumbos they will receive this month. The aircraft arrived in Dubai on Saturday and was powered by a blend of conventional and sustainable jet fuel. The carrier will receive the additional aircraft in December, one of which will feature the carrier’s long-awaited Premium Economy product. The Airbus A380 has been the flagship of the Emirates fleet since entering service with the carrier 12 years ago and has become a customer favorite with unique signature elements such as an Onboard Lounge and Shower Spa. In Monday’s announcement, Emirates Airline’s President, Sir Tim Clark, 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.”
Currently, guests can enjoy flying Emirates’ flagship A380s to Cairo, Amman, Paris, London, Guangzhou, Manchester and Moscow. Recently, Emirates increased A380 service with flour daily flights to London-Heathrow and daily service to Moscow. The aircraft has also been deployed as a “mini-freighter” on select cargo charter flights across Emirates’ global network, demonstrating its versatility. The new A380 delivered Saturday was powered by a blend of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a first for one of the airline’s A380s, and the biofuel was produced from used cooking oil in Finland.
Further commenting on the airline’s commitment to sustainability, Sir Tim Clark added,
“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.”
Emirates is committed to reducing emissions by operating a fleet modern fuel-efficient aircraft with an average age of 6.5 years and through a comprehensive fuel efficiency plan. Sustainability initiatives include working with air navigation providers on “flex tracks” that can create the most efficient plan for each flight as well as the operation of a robust fuel monitoring system. Additionally, Emirates has implemented fuel conservation practices on the ground such as the use of power units and switching one or two engines off during taxi after landing. Other operating initiatives include using idle reverse thrust on landing, loading efficiency improvements, aircraft weight management and the introducing of EFBs (electronic flight bags) for the flight deck crew.
Source: Emirates