Dubai-based Emirates has reduced its passenger fleet to two aircraft types after the retirement of its last Airbus A340 and A330 planes from active service.
The move makes the Gulf juggernaut the world’s only airline to fly just Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft.
Airlines try to minimise the number of aircraft types they operate to reduce costs in areas such as maintenance and spare parts as well as to try and standardise the passenger experience.
Having a big fleet of any aircraft also gives a carrier additional clout with the manufacturer in terms of pricing negotiations and determining aircraft features.
With 85 A380s and 160 B777s, Emirates is the biggest operator of both aircraft types.
The just retired A330, A6-EAK, was the last of a fleet of 29 and had travelled almost 45 million kilometres — the equivalent of 60 return journeys to the moon — since it joined the fleet in 2002.
The last serving four-engine A340, A6-ERN, had joined the fleet in 2004 and was one a fleet of five.
“The average age of the Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft phased out from the fleet is 16.5 years —- a figure which is well below the industry standard retirement age of 25 years,’’ the airline said in a statement.
“In addition to the aircraft that have been retired from active service since January 2015, Emirates plans to further phase out some 25 aircraft over the course of 2017 and 2018 to ensure that the operating fleet remains modern and efficient while offering customers a higher level of comfort and safety.’’
Emirates says the retirement of the older aircraft will be balanced by younger, more modern aircraft entering the fleet and its average aircraft age will remain one of the industry’s youngest at 5.2 years.
The 85th A380, the first of a new generation of a the superjumbos, and the airline’s 125th Boeing 777-300ER were delivered in the past two weeks and are among 36 new aircraft — 20 380sw and 16 777s — to be delivered to Emirates this calendar year.
The order includes Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with upgraded business class seats and other features including a lower fuel burn ratio to come to be delivered from November.
The airline has 234 aircraft worth over $US 112 billion on its order book, including 150 new Boeing 777X aircraft to be delivered from 2020. The new fuel -efficient 777s will sport composite wings and feature larger windows, higher ceiling, and a wider cabin.
