Emirates challenges rivals, aims for 120 A380s

Dubai's Emirates launched a double challenge to European airlines yesterday, setting out ambitions to own a fleet of more than 100 Airbus A380 superjumbos and stepping up a war of words over rivals' subsidy claims.

Emirates, which surprised the aviation world by lifting its orders of the world's largest airliner by a third to 90 aircraft in June, is only constrained by a shortage of space to park them, airline president Tim Clark said.

"We would like some more but we are going to run short of space," Clark said in an interview in his glass-walled office overlooking rows of jets at the Middle East's busiest airport.


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