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Emirates abandons huge plane order, hitting Airbus shares

– Customers ‘queue’ up –

“I am amazed that we already have enquiries, there is already a queue of people,” he said.

In Dubai, Emirates also ordered 150 Boeing very-long-haul 777-8 and 777-9 airliners which are due to enter service from 2020. It also took an option on another 50 of this version.

Emirates was not available for comment on Wednesday.

Airlines had been making massive aircraft orders in anticipation of a pick-up in air traffic as advanced economies recover from a slump and with emerging economies expected to deliver a boost in demand.

The future Boeing 777 series and the Airbus A350 are competitors in what is known as the medium, twin-engined segment, the heart of the market, said analyst Scott Hamilton at Boeing’s home base in Seattle in Washington State.

The decision affects nearly 10 percent of the orders for the new Airbus long-haul aircraft which is going through the processes for obtain airworthiness certification.

Airbus added that it was still very confident in the A350 programme and said that it had orders from 28 airlines for 742 aircraft six months ahead of the plane entering service.

A notable feature of the plane is that the fuselage is made mainly of composite materials.

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“The programme of test flights for the A350 is progressing well and is on schedule for certification (by the Aviation Authorities) in the coming months,” said Airbus.

Emirates had ordered 50 A350-900 and 20 stretched A350-1000 aircraft in 2007, marking the second-biggest order by volume for the A350 plane after 80 ordered by Qatar Airways.

Singapore Airlines has also ordered 70 A350 planes.

Scott Hamilton said that the cancellation could leave a gap in the Emirates fleet which would give Boeing an opportunity to sell its 777-300R model which is available for delivery from 2017.

Emirates could decide to increase substantially its fleet of these Boeing planes rather than take up a new model.

Menard said that in all probability, Emirates had decided to streamline its fleet and focus on the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777 series.

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