Emirates to take delivery of first A380 in July

DUBAI, June 5, (Reuters) - State-owned Emirates airline said on Thursday it expected to take delivery of its first Airbus A380 double-decker aircraft by July 28.

Emirates [EMAIR.UL], the largest A380 customer, with 58 orders worth $18.8 billion, expects to receive five of the world's biggest airliner by the end of March 2009, it said in a statement.

The airline will use its first A380 on routes from Dubai to New York, London Heathrow and Sydney-Auckland, it said.

Singapore became the first airline to operate the A380 when it entered service last October following an 18-month delay due to production problems. It has since received four.

Airbus said in May it would deliver a total of 12 A380s instead of 13 this year and 21 instead of 25 in 2009.

The ability to stick to this schedule is a key factor driving the shares of parent EADS (EAD.PA). (Reporting by John Irish, editing by Will Waterman)