JUST BEFORE THE BOEING 747celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first flight, Airbus put out a regulatory filing stating that it is in "commercial discussions" with Emirates regarding the A380 order it placed one year ago. The phrase could mean many things but boils down to: Emirates (or Airbus) may decide to scrap the deal. Ultimately, the termination of the program would probably be in the best interest of both the manufacturer and the airline. Airbus will never make a profit on the A380, even if an improbable surge in demand leads to a massive influx of orders and higher production. With every additional aircraft Airbus builds for Emirates, the losses worsen. And in reality, there is no non-Emirates backlog. Of the officially 79 aircraft that are yet to be built, 53 are intended for Emirates. Another 20 are for lessor Amedeo, which only has to take them once it finds an airline customer, but it has not placed a single unit since it bought the A380s in 2014. Qantas canceled its order for eight more A380s in early February. Airbus' official backlog even includes three aircraft that were intended for Transaero, a Russian airline that stopped flying in 2015.
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