Looking to the future, Emirates‘ President, Sir Tim Clark is concerned and has expressed his desire for Airbus to build a replacement super jumbo jet – just bigger in size.
Clark has been one of the most vocal supporters of the A380 super jumbo jet from the beginning. Nearly half of all A380s ever produced were purchased by the Dubai-based carrier. Currently, Emirates has 119 A380s in its strong fleet of 265 aircraft, of which 74 are active in service.
The entire fleet of A380s at Emirates will be back in the air by spring 2023. In an exclusive interview with CNN Travel, President Tim Clark expressed his desire saying both he and his airline is hopeful that Airbus will eventually build an A380 replacement jumbo jet.
“The math tells you that you need a big unit, much bigger than we’re getting at the moment.”
Sir Tim Clark, Emirates President
“I was chuckling to myself, thinking ‘Wait and see.’ We started flying the A380 into Heathrow six times a day in October of last year, and we haven’t had a [free] seat on any of them since,” Clark explained to CNN Travel.
Prior to the pandemic, the annual travel growth was 4.5%, which means that it would only take 10 to 15 years to see the global demand surge by 50%. However, there might not be a suitable aircraft for the job since many A380s will be phased out by the mid-2030s. Emirates plans to retire its A380 fleet in the mid-2030s.
“Even with multiple 787s and A350s all busy flying around the world, I still don’t get how you will pick up that growth curve,”
Sir Tim Clark, Emirates President
He further insisted that high ticket prices are inevitable given that supply will be suppressed, even though demand will continue to grow.
Open Fan Engine
In keeping with the industry’s commitment to better sustainability, Clark floated an idea for a new jumbo jet with radical “open fan” engines and lightweight composite fuselage and wings.
“Imagine a composite wing and a predominantly composite fuselage. Imagine engines that are giving you a 20 to 25% improvement compared to what you get today. So you get a lighter aircraft, far more fuel-efficient, which ticks all the boxes as far as the environmentalists are concerned,” elaborates Clark.
At the Farnborough Airshow earlier this year, Airbus and CFM International collaborated to test CFM’s cutting-edge “open fan” engine architecture on board an Airbus A380. The Flight Test Demonstrator is aimed to mature and accelerate the development of advanced propulsion technologies, as part of CFM’s Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engine (RISE) demonstration programme.
The “open fan” engine flight test campaign is planned to be performed in the second half of this decade from the Airbus Flight Test facility in Toulouse, France. It will be trialed on an A380 test plane.
“New propulsion technologies will play an important role in achieving aviation’s net-zero objectives, along with new aircraft designs and sustainable energy sources.”
Sabine Klauke, Airbus Chief Technical Officer
Future Long-Haul Leaders
Currently, the largest planes in production are the Airbus A350-1000 and the upcoming 777-9, which can accommodate just over 400 people in a standard configuration.
However, Clark believes these planes are too small to replace the A380 in Emirates’ fleet. Currently, Emirates has 50 Airbus A350-900s and 115 Boeing 777X alongside 30 B787 Dreamliners on order.
“The biggest one will be the 777-9, whenever that comes to market, which in our configuration [will seat] 364 people against 484 on the A380s with our new premium economy. And it was 519 before, so you get where I’m coming from,” explains Clark.
Clark also stated that he had expressed his desire for a new jumbo plane to Airbus multiple times. “I’ve spoken to Airbus more than once. I think they’re beginning to take it a little bit more seriously, but at the moment they are concentrating on their single-aisle planes and the A350 line.”
Emirates Massive Fleet Upgrade
Recently, Emirates announced its ambitious project to retrofit the latest cabin interiors on 120 Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s. In addition, we’ll also experience a new menu crowned by unlimited caviar and Dom Perignon in first class.
The Dubai-based carrier targets to retrofit four aircraft every month from the kick-off to the end of the project, continuously for over 2 years. At first, the 67 earmarked A380s will undergrow the upgrade. After the A380s get refreshed and back in service, 53 of the 777s will undergo their facelift. Trials began on an A380 in July. Engineers tested, timed and mapped out every action during the trial.
“This will see nearly 4,000 brand new Premium Economy seats installed, 728 First Class suites refurbished and over 5,000 Business Class seats upgraded to a new style and design when the project is complete in April 2025.”
Emirates
Currently, only six of the carrier’s A380s feature the new premium economy cabin. These A380s have been flying to Sydney, London and Paris. Later this year, passengers traveling to and from Christchurch, New Zealand can also experience the premium economy product. These flights will be extensions of the existing Dubai-Sydney services, starting in December.
Muy bueno este debate, me ha gustado mucho, pienso que si Emirates esta decidido a comprar un avión más grande de más capacidad de pasajeros, que garantice entonces la compra o renovación de sus 119 A380-800 a Airbus, así como otras aereolineas, Airbus podría desarrollar en los proximos años el A380-1000 Neo, con nuevos motores potentes y ahorradores de combustible como el GE9x, con gran capacidad de pasajeros y que tenga un gran uso de materiales compuestos en la cabina y en las alas para que ahorre ahun mas combustible, que tenga alas plegables largas como el 777x, que plegadas sus alas lleguen casi a los 80 metros y al desplegarlas lleguen a una envergadura como 96 metros no se, es sólo una idea, aportándole por su tamaño desplegadas un ahorro de combustible extra, que tenga una autonomia completamente lleno de 18000-19000 kilometros de distancia para poder recorrer rutas directas y sin escalas como Sydney Londres o Sydney Nueva york, compañias aeirras como Qantas estaria interesada en comprar este A380-1000Neo. Me gustaría muchisimo ver volando un súper jumbo así de ese tamaño como un A380-1000 Neo
The problem with open fans is when a fan blade comes off, there is the danger of it going into the cabin. What is unlikely with normal jet engines.
Why doesn’t airbus do a NEO version of the A380, maybe use the upcoming ultrafan engine from RR or a GEnX type engine. Do a 777X twist and use composite wings and maybe a composite fuselage, surely that would make some massive efficiency changes. Even do a stretched version. I don’t know. I think its such a slim chance of this happening as the A350 and A319/20/21NEO are such big successes and Airbus will want to devote all attention to them for now
I said on here last year or in 2020 the A380 would be back as all this nonsense about getting rid of their almost new fleets of A380s was for the birds lol…. they have invested too much just to throw them away just like that for the scrapper !!! They spent Billions on them and some have only been flying for under 6 or so years…..loads of years left flying time and ANYONE could predict the return of demand lol……
Who were these fools who came up with this idea it would never return???
Anyway wow,even bigger,the issue is an aircraft manufacture is not going to just develop a new or enhance an existing aircraft type for one AIRLINE!!!! Unless they foot half the development costs ??
They need a good 10 or more with sufficient order numbers to get either Airbus or indeed Boeing interested!! Money talks….both ways i hear you cry,well yes but the developers may see the potential but only if the order numbers come in!
The only way i see it is a bigger TRI-JET version of the A380 with Ultra fan engines as 2 i think would be pushing it,unless 4 is acceptable to their costs expenditure per unit flying?? Alas 2 engines i think would be a serious Health and safety argument! I am glad we have the likes of Tim Clark,should work for BA and get that airline back to the way it should be!!
I think Airbus came up with an idea once for a sort of A340 doubled width deck rather than upper deck?Maybe thats worth exploring again now with new tech and also their 3 engined design tail plain? Maybe 4 still under the wing is the way to go or like a Tristar tail end design but way bigger as a DC-10 tail i think would be not stable at the sizes we are talking about!
G.
Mi comentario no lo pusieron incompleto, esta cortado, cuando abro el sitio me lo pone completo mi comentario pero al pasar unos segundos ponen solo la última parte de mi comentario, saben porque ocurre esto ?????
Interesting read, but concerned about the need for 40,000m2 of leather?? Why can’t a responsible alternative be used (eg Tesla vegan friendly leather?) surely you are limiting your customer potential by using leather. Also, what is the recycling potential of all the removed equipment? Thanks Sam, love the website!
I can predict Airbus and Airport executives running for the exit door when Tim Clark pitches his proposal for a bigger aircraft than A380.
“ticks all the boxes as far as the environmentalists are concerned”? Not if it’s still burning fossil fuel. By the mid-2030’s the demand for alternatives is going to be deafeningly loud. Sorry to be a wet blanket, but the idea of 50% growth in air travel in the immediate future doesn’t jive with worldwide pledges to cut carbon emissions. There’s only so much used cooking oil to turn into jet fuel…not remotely enough for even one major airline to go “green”.
Hi Sam. Thanks for this update.
I have a question and since you’re extremely knowledgeable and fly LH first lots, I wanted to know if you can help me.
If I book an award from USA to FRA on first class in Lh and then purchase a separate flight afterwards from FRA to LHR same day on business class, will I be able to use the LH first class lounge? Will these flights be then considered transiting flights? Thanks in advance.
Similarly, if the second flight departing Frankfurt is BA, will I then still be able to access LH FCT? Thanks Sam.
if it is not on Lufthansa group, then I think you can’t access FCT.
It’s amazing how T. Clark wants an aircraft bigger than the A380. His arguments are credible, – open fan and CFRP wing/fuselage and more passengers can be economic factors against future ticket price increases and cleaner transport challenges for the near future
It appears that Tim Clark is the only airline exec who wants a larger plane. It would seem that Airbus is taking a big bath with the A380 and has learned its lesson.
“Emirates has 119 A380s in its strong fleet of 265 aircraft”
Wow 265 aircraft and making demands a design of new aircraft that probably not many customers will buy given the gloomy econmy outlook. 265 sounds a lot but put that into comparison, China needs to purchase 9000 a320 by the year 2040. Airbus built a new factory in Tianjin china to fill those order. Maybe you need to reach that size to start making demands.
I think it’s interesting that Emirates is flying under the game plan of Pan Am Airways. Hopefully it works out much better for them then it did for Pan Am. One thing going for them is many countries won’t allow their flag ship carriers to go bankrupt.
I love the interior seating of your first class accommodation.
Just using flights to the UK as a justification is shortsighted – just wondering what his real agenda and reasons are.
Sam, it’s very intriguing and ironic that just two years ago, Tim Clark had declared that “the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 are over”. Tim was predicting the demise of the A380 and suggesting that it be used as a cargo hauler as it gets phased out.
Fast forward two years and he now wants an even bigger plane! How fast people change their opinions!