Emirates announced a deal for up to 36 Airbus A380 aircraft on Thursday worth as much as $16 billion at list prices, saving the world's biggest passenger jet from death row and securing its future for at least another decade.
The European plane-maker said Emirates had placed a provisional order for 20 of the double-decker superjumbos, with an option for 16 more. Deliveries are due to start in 2020.
The agreement hands a lifeline to the slow-selling aircraft, in service for just 10 years, and rescues one of Europe's most visible industrial symbols overseas.