Daily Insight: Monday 18 February 2019: Who Benefits from the A380 Demise?

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Last week Airbus indicated that it will cease production of the A380 beginning in 2021.  That leaves it with no aircraft to offer larger than the 350 seat A350-1000. Boeing has a 425 seat 777-9 that will soon be delivered that offers competitive seat-mile economics, despite being based on an older aircraft.  Today, Boeing is better positioned to take the A380 replacement market than Airbus.

Nonetheless, Airbus is better off for having cancelled the A380, which remained a financial drain on the company, and enables the new management team to begin with a “clean sheet.’