Airbus will stop making the A380, pulling the plug on its super-sized jumbo jet that once promised to revolutionize commercial air travel but failed to deliver on outsized expectations. The European plane maker said Thursday that it will stop delivering A380s in 2021 after its key customer, Dubai-based airline Emirates, slashed its orders for the world’s largest airliner. “It’s a painful decision,” Airbus CEO Tom Enders said during a conference call with analysts. “We’ve invested a lot of effort, a lot of resources and a lot of sweat into this aircraft.” “But obviously we need to be realistic,” he added. “With the decision of Emirates to reduce orders, our order backlog is not sufficient to sustain production.” The decision could cost as many as 3,500 jobs at Airbus in European countries over the next three years. The A380 first flew 14 years ago on a giant bet that airlines would need a plane that can carry up to 853 passengers. But the 21st Century instead saw airlines buying cheaper, smaller plans to help trim costs — with CNN
