The president of Emirates Airlines said the world’s foremost carrier of international traffic could add another 30 Airbus A380 jumbo jets to its existing order for 90 of the planes built by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. The aircraft is Airbus’s answer to the 747 from Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), and Emirates is the company’s biggest customer for the plane.

President Tim Clark said in an interview:

Part of the problem is available gate space and airspace capacity over the United Arab Emirates. The Dubai International Airport recently opened the first 4 of 20 new gates that are designated as A380-only, but Emirates is competing with other Middle East rivals for the gate space.

Any addition to Emirates A380 order would certainly be welcomed by Airbus, which trailed Boeing badly in sales and new orders last year. The list price for one A380 is currently around $3.9 billion.

Both Airbus and Boeing faced some quality issues in 2012, with the Airbus A380 experiencing a problem with cracks in its wings and Boeing getting hit with delamination and electrical problems with its new 787 Dreamliner.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.