by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:38 AM ET, Mon January 15, 2018
Airbus officials announced Monday the company may be forced to abandon its A380 superjumbo plane construction program.
According to the Associated Press, Airbus chief salesman John Leahy revealed that if the airplane manufacturer can't work out a new deal with Emirates, the company would be forced to stop producing the A380 planes.
Airbus officials said Emirates is the only airline that would be able to purchase six planes a year for a minimum of eight-to-10 years. The company needs the deal to make the program viable heading into the future.
Demand for the A380 has dropped as airlines have been purchasing smaller twin-engine planes as opposed to the four-engine Airbus. Emirates is the largest A380 client with 142 aircrafts ordered, over 100 of which have already been delivered.
Emirates and Airbus have been working on a new order for 36 A380 planes worth $16 billion, but talks broke down during the Dubai Airshow last month. Negotiations between the two companies have reportedly continued, but no deal is imminent.
In addition to the announcement of its possible abandonment of the A380 program, Airbus revealed it sold 1,109 planes year, which helped it pass rival Boeing thanks to several end-of-year deals.
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