EK cancels all (70) of its A350XWBs on order!

[ConcordeBoy]

Yikes, who saw this coming?!

http://leehamnews.com/2014/06/10/emirates-cancels-a350-order-could-be-boost-for-slow-selling-777-classic/

[ConcordeBoy]

Airbus confirms:

http://www.airbus.com/newsevents/news-events-single/detail/airbus-and-emirates-airline-agree-to-cancel-a350-xwb-order/

I truly wonder what it could be that spooked EK?

[larsv]

Emirates has said that the A350 doesn't fit into their current fleet development anymore

[ConcordeBoy]

Sure, but that's extremely vague.

The question is, WHY doesn't it work for them anymore?
*capacity? (over or under)
*range?
*performance/burn?
*delivery times?
*opportunity cost?
*combination of the above?

....it can go so many ways. I really hope we find out what they saw that made them run, and whether it was caused by themselves or something about Airbus or the product.

If it's the latter, I wonder if other airlines might take it to task as well.

[Peter Kesternich]

My suspicion: fleet commonality. I would think, they calculated the cost of introducing a new type and then decided to go with the 777X.

[brianw999]

They were trying to decide between the A350 and the B787. So, will they look to the 787 or stick with a fleet common 777 of various subtypes.

[ConcordeBoy]

So, will they look to the 787 or stick with a fleet common 777 of various subtypes.

They've already said that 788 and 789 are too small for their needs, and that 78J doesn't have enough range.

So barring a re-spec of the latter, probably not.

[AA 1818]

The order of 50 A350-900 and 20 A350-1000 was originally placed by Emirates Airline in 2007 with first delivery slots scheduled from 2019.

https://www.airbus.com/newsevents/ne...350-xwb-order/

This from the same article referenced above.

While I know that this might seem out of step with the infallable EK's fine legacy of massive aircraft orders - but both EK and Airbus seem to accept the fact that an order placed before a major recession might be too much to chew. Weird I know, but perhaps the infallible EK is finally arriving at a point where they do have to concern themselves with too much capacity. After Dubai's bailout - maybe EK is finally learning that "build at and they will come" is not always true.

[ConcordeBoy]

.................anddddd, here we go:

Not only are they considering the A350 again, but it seems the 787 is now back up for consideration as well.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7728d6c8-faea-11e3-a9cd-00144feab7de.html

So, they cancelled their A350 order, only to reconsider ordering more A350s and/or possibly its general competitor.

This airline continues to amaze and amuse; though I still wonder if it's not an inevitable house o' cards.

[AA 1818]

This airline continues to amaze and amuse; though I still wonder if it's not an inevitable house o' cards.

These crazy antics sure do seem to paint that picture.

All in all, it's not as if EADS has much to worry about though, as EK did up their A380 orders in the past, back then almost to a number that seemed to compensate (almost 1:1).

What is great news for the A350 program is that EK's slots can now be sold to, or acquired by, other carriers that might be eager to have them. I hope that in time, we do see A350s proudly flying with EK, however with that many planes already there, competitors growing, and a market that is not as open and receptive to large, unprecedented growth - even the mighty EK must be a little concerned.

Either way, the initial order cancel was great news for both Boeing and EADS - as Boeing got to show their 787s off, and hope to sell 50 787-10s, and EADS (now knowing the disappointment from EK) can go back to the drawing board (and/or discount) in order to re-capture a great client.