Well that didn’t take long. On Monday, I explained how Airbus SE was playing a high-stakes game of chicken by threatening to shut down A380 production unless Emirates placed a big order. On Thursday, Emirates blinked.

The Dubai-based carrier has tentatively agreed to buy up to 36 superjumbos (20 orders plus an option for 16 more) in a move that should keep the European manufacturer’s flagship program running for at least another decade. The deal spares the blushes of Airbus and Emirates but it’s also a relief for other airlines, lessors and investors exposed to the resale value of the jet.

Still, it’s an odd state of affairs when a manufacturer can effectively strong-arm a big customer into a $16 billion deal, at list prices. (Emirates won’t pay nearly that much of course.) The lesson here is that when you decide to go all-in on a technology—be it an aircraft, or other expensive piece of kit—make sure you’re not alone.

Both parties wanted a quick agreement, with Airbus chief salesman John Leahy due to retire. But arguably Emirates’ need was the greater. Its Dubai hub strategy is built around the 550-seat jet and Emirates has more than 100 in service—almost 40 percent of its fleet—far more than other airlines. The first of its A380s entered service in 2008, so Emirates had to start thinking about how to replace some of them. Relatively young jets are important to its premium image.

Though Emirates ordered some Boeing 787s at the Dubai Airshow in November, a like-for-like replacement of the larger A380 was always the most straightforward solution. Emirates marketing has heavily promoted the plane as customers love the roomy interior. So it could hardly reverse course without putting that goodwill at risk. All this was grist to Airbus’s negotiating position.

While Airbus has learned to make the A380 more efficiently, it’s doubtful it will make much of a return on the planes that Emirates has ordered. Airbus says there’s a business case for the A380 providing it can produce at least six a year. The fact that it depended on Emirates to sign on now suggests it isn’t entirely confident that all of the 95 planes in its backlog will be delivered. Analysts assume many will be cancelled.

Airbus investors can live with that so long as demand for the aircraft actually picks up one day. On paper, the A380 has always seemed the ideal solution to the problem of increasingly congested airports. Yet, in reality, airlines are increasingly shunning the big hubs and flying point-to-point instead, thanks in part to a new generation of fuel-efficient jets.

China’s skies are among the world’s most crowded, yet its airlines have ordered just five A380s to date. The Emirates order thus represents a stay of execution for the double-decker, but if Airbus is really going to be still producing the A380 “well into the 2030s”, as chief salesman Leahy expects, it can’t keep relying on one big captive customer.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.