According to an article published by Bloomberg, the contract between Emirates and the aircraft manufacturer would be worth $8.7 billion before discounts. It would be through negotiations that are at an early stage.
Currently, Emirates has not yet established exactly how many aircraft the Persian Gulf carrier requires, according to an anonymous source who asked not to be named because of the confidentiality of the discussion. Airbus might also require committing to measure to make the Airbus SE 1380 more efficient before a deal is signed.
The passenger-favorite Dubai-based airline company could reach an agreement in acquiring the planes before the end of 2017 for deliveries starting in 2020, according to two people involved in the discussion. Emirates would hand Airbus a lifeline in maintaining production at a level where it can break even on each jet. This is after the company warned this week that it would have to cut output further in the absence of new orders this year.
In a discussion in Flyertalk forum, Emirates said in an email that it has no plans as of the moment to buy more A380s. Although, they regularly engage discussions with the manufacturers on product updates and enhancement of current and future aircraft. The spokesman of Toulouse, a France-based Airbus company, refused to comment on the confidential client discussions.
Emirates the world's leading long-haul carrier is so far the biggest buyer and operator of the A380. They usually order for more than 140 plans configured for 489 to 615 seats.
