The fate of Airbus' longhaul A350 jets are in question after Dubai's Emirates airline made a surprise decision to cancel its 70-plane, $16 billion order.
The Wall Street Journal called the move "one of the industry's largest plane cancellations" after the second largest buyer of the planes shifted its priorities.
"The contract which we signed in 2007 for 70 A350 aircraft has lapsed. We are reviewing our fleet requirements," said a spokesman for Emirates. Worried about the Dubai airport's future capacity, the company will likely look toward larger planes.
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According to Reuters, salesmen at Airbus and engine-maker Rolls Royce said they weren't too worried about the cancellation, as they almost immediately got calls from other airlines inquiring about the 70 planes.
"It is not good news commercially but not bad news financially," said Airbus sales chief John Leahy. "There is certainly going to be no hole in production."
The planes were expected to be delivered in 2019, and represented 9 percent of the jets order backlog. Airbus reports that the A350 took $15 billion to develop over the course of eight years.
"The Emirates cancellation on its own doesn’t really do anything to the financial numbers for Rolls-Royce but the shares are down as people are wondering if Emirates will be the last to cancel," said Espirito Santo analyst Edward Stacey.
Airbus' and Rolls Royce's stock both declined upon the announcement by under 5 percent.
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