Airbus and Emirates Airline plan an agreement to purchase 35 A350 widebodies, including the higher-capacity A350-1000 variant.
The information ended up being published apparently by mistake by Airbus, which released art showing the A350-900 and A350-1000 versions in the colors of the Dubai-based carrier. The image was removed from the company’s website minutes later.
On Thursday, Airbus and Emirates Airline did indeed announce a new order, but for just 15 A350-900s.
Emirates Airline is in talks to expand its order for the A350-1000, but until Tuesday differences regarding the performance of the Rolls-Royce engines prevented an agreement.
Tim Clark, the carrier’s president, told reporters that the Trent-97 XWB turbofan provides just a quarter of the time between maintenance visits that Emirates needs.
The engine manufacturer claimed that it is making improvements to the turbofan, but that operations in desert regions affect any equipment due to sand and heat.
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The possible announcement would reduce Airbus’ order gap with Boeing, which has dominated business at the Dubai Airshow. The US manufacturer sold another 90 777X jets to Emirates itself at the opening of the event on November 13th.
