So, earlier this week, we reported that Lufthansa could be about to order 15 Airbus A380neo aircraft. Although reports were unconfirmed, a leading tweet led to widespread speculation that an order for more Lufthansa A380 aircraft could be on the cards.
Unfortunately for Airbus, it appears the speculation was nothing more than unwarranted noise. Responding to the excitement on Twitter, Lufthansa were quick to shut down comments, stating simply “We are currently not in the process of ordering A380s”
Although Lufthansa’s support of the European based Airbus is clear to see, they also tend to prefer the smaller, twin engine models over the behemoth A380. The carrier currently operates 14 A380s out of its fleet of 284, the bulk of which is made up of A320 and A321 aircraft.
What does no Lufthansa A380 order mean for Airbus?
Airbus have been struggling with the A380 for some time. The project is yet to reach break-even point, and in March this year the manufacturer confirmed they would be reducing production from 12 aircraft per year to just six.
Although the reduced production won’t start until 2020, next year will see a step down to eight, leading to unavoidable job losses. Wings for the A380 are currently manufactured in Broughton, UK, a site that employs more than 6,000 staff.
Airbus have speculated that the planned curb of the project will impact around 3,700 jobs, spread across the UK, France, Germany and Spain. However, they have said they hope to accommodate any affected staff on other projects, as the demand for more popular jets continues to rise.
As it stands, the biggest customer for the A380 is Emirates. They’ve ordered 162 in total since 2008, with 104 already delivered to the airline. A Lufthansa A380neo order could have secured the future of the aircraft which, if any further hiccups were to happen with the Emirates order, could be very shaky indeed.