Is that 27 days grounded after every 100 cycles? That is very worrying.

Yes, that's what one of the engineers told me. (Actually 2 on 2 separate occasions)

To be honest 100 cycles seems awfully short. But that's what was said to me. I'm probably wrong as nothing official has been stated.

I can also say I herd this from a very reliable source in EK management...

QR's CEO also announced yesterday they too had put off deliveries of their A380s "until the wing crack issue is resolved"

I think they have 2 more A380 will delivery sometime in May or June.

Actually, EK has already accept delivery the #21 A380 (A6-EDV) last 2 month ago. Right now, those 2 A380 isn't delivery yet. Both A6-EDW & A6-EDX isn't ready to deliveries. I guess you have be more patiently. So please give it chance to completely inspections the wings cracks.

Yes, they already delivery the #21 A380 to EK back in Feb or March. I believe.

Please followed the link:

http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/E...ctive-a380.htm

See? EK has already delivery on EK#21 A380 (A6-EDV).

Yes, delivered but the aircraft does not seem to be located in DXB. No flight number or flights have been logged with A6-EDV as the operating aircraft, which would indicate the aircraft is sitting put somewhere.

Where, is the question...

A6-EDV may have been legally delivered (although even that I doubt) but it certainly has not been flown to DXB, let alone that it has been put into operation. Airfleets must be the only internet database that shows this frame as delivered. None of the other sources shows it as such.

Sorry if this is out of place from an EK lurker, but can the mods please start up an air frames delivery thread and keep all of this endless talk about the 380s out of the New Routes and Changes thread.

Emirates to receive 10 more superjumbos this fiscal year
 

Carrier expects decline in profits owing to high fuel prices last year

By Shweta Jain, Senior Reporter Published: 00:00 May 2, 2012

http://i47.tinypic.com/t8t6k7.jpg
Image Credit: Asghar Khan/Gulf News
The Emirates pavilion at the Arabian Travel Market 2012. The airline has launched seven new routes this year so far with four more to be launched by the end of the year.


Dubai: With 21 Airbus A380s now in service, Emirates is looking to add 10 more superjumbos to its fleet in the current financial year ending March 31, according to a senior Emirates executive.

"The plan is to add 10 additional A380s in this financial year," Thierry Antinori, the airline's executive vice-president of passenger sales worldwide, told Gulf News in an interview.

Emirates has been grappling with the problem of wing cracks in its A380 jets. It was forced to ground almost its entire A380 fleet due to the problem.

Asked about the status of the grounded A380s, Antinori said: "The planes are still flying. While most of the aircraft are back in operation now, there are still a couple of them on the ground for inspection. We have absolutely no issue regarding safety."

He added that the carrier is currently conducting checks on the wings.

"We have checked some planes and some are being checked now. And for the time being, we're able to operate with our mainline fleet, including 777, A330, A340 fleet, for the flights that were supposed to have been done by the A380s put on the ground," he said. "We will have a little fewer A380s in the air for the next few weeks."

Continuing its aggressive growth, Emirates has 171 planes at present, with another 232 on order worth $84 billion at list prices (Dh308.49 billion). The airline has launched seven new routes this year so far and four more will be launched by the end of the year, according to Antinori. "We will also be increasing frequencies on some existing routes such as to Madrid, Glasgow, Malpensa, Venice and so on," he said.

Emirates is due to declare its financial results for the year ended March 31, and expects a decline in profits caused by high fuel prices, according to Antinori.


Affecting bottomline

"The fuel price last fiscal was very high for Emirates. It was an increase of our fuel bill by $1.6 billion. It directly impacted the bottomline of the company, which means that our profit will be down for the financial year ended March 31 in comparison with the record year 2010-2011," he said.

The carbon tax levied by the European Union (EU) on January 1 on all airlines using European airspace has created a stir in the aviation industry. While many carriers, such as Etihad Airways, have passed on this additional cost to passengers, Emirates has not done so yet.

"We are not transferring that to our customers for the time being. We continue to observe the situation, which, unfortunately, is not evolving positively. And if nothing happens, we will have no other choice but to pass it on to customers," Antinori said. "This tax is not a tax helping the airline industry. We have little hope with the situation, but we won't be able to wait forever."


http://gulfnews.com/business/aviatio...year-1.1016628

^^ So 10 new super jumbo's by 31.3.13 and 4 new destinations before the end of 2012 :D

Yes, if you promise to keep the thread updated with "direct from the source" content ;)

Give me a few days, its going to take some time to run the feather duster over the whole thing...

Eightblack, have you heard (confirmed or otherwise) if flights to SFO will be expanded either in frequency (2x daily) or equipment (773 to 380) ?

These flights run full regularly, and it would be very convenient to also have a late night departure from DXB, just like LAX has.

It has been mentioned that SFO is likely to get the 380, so perhaps double daily is unlikely.