Some might say the aircraft is worthless, given the lack of a second-hand market. Indeed,
the aircraft’s maintenance and upkeep would even cost
owners a great deal of money without generating a profit at the moment.
However, to others such as British Airways, the aircraft remains a valuable tool to
unlock highly slot constrained hubs. Let’s take a look at the type’s value in 2021...
The Airbus A380 has had a rough ride over the past few years.
Way before the start of the pandemic, Airbus had already decided that it was
no longer commercially viable to continue offering the giant of the skies as part
of its product lineup. The pandemic has certainly done the mammoth jet no favors.
It’s impossible to say for sure how much an Airbus A380 is worth, given the impact of COVID-19,
tied with a non-existent second-hand market. With that being said, ch-aviation.com does list the
market value of most Airbus A380 aircraft, provided by Collateral Verifications LLC.
As is typical with aircraft and most assets, their value goes down with age.
Airbus stopped publishing its list prices in 2019. In 2018, however,
the giant A380 had a list price of $445.6 million, although this could vary with configuration.
Additionally, it is unusual for airlines to pay list price,
and the actual prices paid for aircraft are a closely guarded commercial secret.
The world’s leading Airbus A380 operator, Emirates, took delivery of its latest Airbus
A380 a week ago. While we’ll likely never know how much money exchanged hands for the aircraft,
ch-aviation.com lists this specific aircraft’s value
as $110.6 million. This is just a quarter of the jet’s 2018 list price.
ANA’s newest of three Airbus A380s has to date only been delivered on paper. While it belongs
to ANA, it remains under the care of Airbus. This aircraft is currently valued at just $92.95M,
$17.65 million less than Emirates’ newest jet.Older aircraft with more use under their
belts are understandably worth less than their brand new counterparts. The cheapest
Airbus A380 with a listed market value is owned by Emirates, putting it at both ends of the spectrum.
A6-EchoDeltaAlpha was the 11th A380 to be built, with an age of 13.72 years,
the aircraft is one of the oldest A380s. As a result, it is now valued at less than
half of the airline’s newest aircraft. According to ch-aviation.com’s data, the aircraft has flown
49,632 hours across 6,098 flight cycles. Its current listed market value is $41.05 million.
Of course, some may argue that the aircraft has no value, as nobody would be willing to buy them.
To date, only one aircraft has been picked up on the second-hand market, and this aircraft has now
been retired after flying for a couple years with Hi Fly. The aircraft would still have value locked
in its spare parts and even scrap materials. What do you think is the value of an Airbus
A380 in 2021? Will it go up or down in 2022? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!