Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways is still studying whether it ever resumes Airbus A380 flights, its chief executive Tony Douglas said.
"The jury is out" on whether Etihad would ever operate the four-engined jet again, Douglas told the state-owned carrier's podcast, published this week.
"I think it is heavily handicapped by two engines too many and other aircraft that can do the job far more efficiently, far more sustainably," he noted.
Sources told Reuters in May that Etihad was considering retiring its 10 A380s, grounded in March when the coronavirus crisis forced passenger flights to be suspended.
Passenger services have since resumed though the A380s remain grounded with the airline favoring smaller aircraft as the pandemic continues to hit travel demand.
Douglas did not say when Etihad would make a decision. He also stressed that he was not trying to rule out Etihad's A380s returning to service
However, he noted that he believed there would be an acceleration in the retirement of A380s globally, Reuters reported.
