Emirates may have just saved the Airbus A380.
The Dubai-based carrier announced Thursday that it has ordered 20 of the superjumbo jets, with an option to buy 16 more.
The deal is worth a total of $16 billion at list prices.
The agreement, which brings the total number of A380s that Emirates has ordered to 178, is a major boost for the struggling superjumbo program.
Airbus said earlier this week, in an unusual public statement, that it could stop making the A380 if Emirates did not increase its purchases.
“If we cannot work out a deal with Emirates, I think there is no choice but to shut down the program,” John Leahy, the company’s chief operating officer, told reporters on Monday.
Emirates is the largest A380 operator with 101 of the aircraft already in service. The planes ordered Thursday will be delivered starting in 2020.
“We’ve made no secret of the fact that the A380 has been a success for Emirates,” Chairman Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum said in a statement. “Our customers love it, and we’ve been able to deploy it on different missions across our network, giving us flexibility in terms of range and passenger mix.”