Airbus SE on Oct. 8 named the plane maker's commercial aircraft division head Guillaume Faury as successor to CEO Tom Enders, who will retire in April 2019, confirming an earlier report.

Faury was appointed as CEO of Airbus Helicopters in May 2013 and became the head of Airbus Commercial Aircraft earlier this year.

Airbus board Chairman Denis Ranque will remain in his position until April 2020.

Faury's appointment comes amid reports that Airbus' $16 billion A380 superjumbo jet deal with the United Arab Emirates-based carrier Emirates has stalled. Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg Oct. 8 that both companies have missed a deadline to select engines for the planes, which could delay first delivery in 2020 and possibly kill the deal.

Emirates signed the contract with Airbus in January, ensuring the model's production for at least another 10 years. Before signing the deal, Airbus was considering whether to phase out production of the A380 superjumbo jet.