By Julie Johnsson | Emirates
Airline announced Tuesday that it is purchasing 32 additional Airbus
A380 super-jumbo jets, an order worth at $11.5 billion. The order is
the largest ever placed for the double-decker aircraft and would bring
the total number of A380s in the fleet of Dubai-based Emirates to 90
jets.

Emirates’ order, unveiled at the Berlin Air Show, exceeds the 10 or so A380s that analysts had expected it to buy and provides a boost to Airbus SAS. The France-based airplane manufacturer had been struggling to find customers and as it resolves lingering production problems with the super-jumbo jet. Airbus has received 234 firm orders for the A380 from 17 carriers.
 
The order is another sign that the global airline industry is pulling out of financial turbulence that prompted many airlines to cancel or defer hundreds of aircraft orders.
 
The International Air Transport Association said Monday that is expects airlines globally to earn $2.5 billion in 2010, with U.S. and Asia-Pacific airlines leading the recovery. The international trade group had earlier projected a $2.8 billion loss for the year.