(RTTNews) - Dubai-based Emirates Airline said Tuesday that it placed an order with Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. N.V., or EADS, (EADSY.PK, EADSF.PK), for an additional 32 A380 aircraft. The order for the additional aircraft, which is the biggest single order for the superjumbo to date, is valued at US$11.5 billion.

The latest order was announced by Emirates at the Berlin Air Show, taking the total firm order by the carrier for the aircraft to 90, or almost 40% of the 234 firm orders that Airbus has signed for the double-deck plane. The airline has already ordered 58 of the world's largest passenger plane.

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine airliner. The A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France, and made its first commercial flight on 25 October 2007 from Singapore to Sydney with Singapore Airlines.

"This latest order, adding to 58 A380s previously ordered, affirms Emirates' strategy to become a world leading carrier and to further establish Dubai as a central gateway to worldwide air travel. The A380 is our flagship in terms of passenger comfort, innovation, operating and environmental efficiency and revenue generation," said H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al- Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group.

Emirates is currently serving eight international destinations with the A380 aircraft, including London Heathrow, Toronto, Paris, Jeddah, Bangkok, Seoul, Sydney and Auckland. The airline said it will start A380 services to Beijing from August 1, Manchester from September 1, and will return service to New York's John F. Kennedy airport on October 1.

In addition to the orders placed today, Emirates has 48 Airbus 380s, 70 Airbus 350s, 18 Boeing 777-300s and 7 Boeing air freighters on order, totaling 143 wide-body aircraft worth more than US$48 billion.

The Emirates deal enables Airbus overcome an order dearth for the world's largest passenger plane. The ambitious A380 program has been beset by numerous production and financial delays since it was first proposed in 2005. After originally hoping the superjumbo would be the company's salvation, Airbus is now targeting to break even by 2015 on the project.

Airbus said that all Emirates' A380 aircraft will be powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines and delivered from Hamburg. In Germany, more than 30 major suppliers are directly feeding into the A380 program. Airbus noted that the A380 program alone adds an estimated 40,000 direct, indirect and induced German jobs. A380 firm orders now stand at 234 from 17 customers, the company said.

In the recent first quarter, Airbus delivered 122 aircraft, including three A380 and three single aisle aircraft under operating lease, and booked 60 new firm commercial orders.

EADSY.PK closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $19.35, down $0.30 or 1.57% on a volume of 2,750 shares.