Emirates committed to A380 despite growing pains

Emirates President Tim Clark told
ATWOnline yesterday in Berlin that the airline's A380s have been a success with passengers and on the balance sheet but that "there are still problems with the reliability of the aircraft. And when we fix snags, we find new ones. I am trying to be kind to Airbus, but they have to solve the problems." The operational reliability of EK's seven in-service A380s is 90%-95%, which he said is not good enough, although he added that the manufacturer "gives us good support." EK plans to take seven more A380s and six 777-300ERs this year.

Meanwhile, Clark said the airline will report a 20% increase in passenger numbers for the year ending March 31. "We will have a good story to tell" when the full-year results are released later in the spring, he said. During the past year EK has been able to raise fares step-by-step by as much as 35%, but yields remain under pressure although load factors across the network have climbed to 83%-84%. It has no plan to reduce the number of premium seats on offer like some other carriers, particularly Qantas and Lufthansa. "Sure we took a hit in our premium classes. But the aviation industry is making the wrong decision. The more they reduce, the better it is for us. I don't believe that F and C class will not come back," he said.