Emirates boss remains optimistic for first Boeing 777X deliveries by 2027  

Speaking to reporters on the periphery of the International Air Transport Association  (IATA) 81st annual general meeting of airline CEOs being held in India, Emirates boss Tim Clark has expressed cautious optimism concerning Boeing’s next-generation 777X widebody. The Dubai-based carrier has over 200 orders for the planemaker’s newest aircraft, which is currently undergoing a process of certification before it enters into service.

Speaking to reporters as the AGM began, Tim Clark said that his airline’s expectations remain that the first of its new aircraft will be delivered to the carrier by “early 2027”, allowing for further growth and network expansion. According to a report in The National, Emirates could even receive its first 777X wide-body plane between the third or fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, and is getting “clearer messages” from Boeing regarding that delivery schedule.

“I’m quite impressed with the energy, the concern they have about getting that done. That’s why I was cautiously optimistic because they weren’t just talking the talk, they were walking the talk,” Clark told reporters in the Indian capital, Delhi.

EmiratesReferencing a recent meeting between Clark and Boeing’s chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, he praised his counterpart’s efforts to revive the US manufacturer and its fortunes. “I can see a high degree of determination and earnestness to get the job done,” he said. Clark added that he intends to pay a visit to Boeing in Seattle sometime in September 2025 to inspect the progress being made on the 777X and its certification program.

One has to go as far back as 2014 to find exactly when Emirates first placed an order for 777Xs. Emirates finalized an order for 150 Boeing 777X aircraft, including 115 777-9s and 35 777-8s, in July 2014. This order, which was valued at $56 billion, was part of the largest product launch in commercial jetliner history at the time,  according to Boeing’s newsroom. Emirates also has purchase rights for an additional 50 airplanes in the years since, bringing its total outstanding orderbook for the type to 200 units.

The first of these was originally scheduled to be delivered in 2020. However, repeated delays with certification, Boeing’s very public quality assurance issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic all combined to set this date back several years. If Emirates had received the aircraft as per the originally agreed delivery schedule, it would have had 80 of the 777-9s operating in its fleet by now.

BoeingUnder the terms of the contract between the parties, Boeing is required to hand over the first jet to the Dubai airline by October 2025. While that goal is not achievable now, with the new type actively heading towards certification, there is now a “glimmer of light” for the certification of the 777X, Clark added.

Optimism prevails

Should the aircraft remain on track and complete its ETOPS (extended twin range operations) certification flight test programme by the first quarter of 2026, “it is conceivable” that the aircraft will make its first entry into service by the third or fourth quarter of next year, said Clark. “The important thing is they get it out and it’s certified to the rigours of the new Boeing approach to building aircraft, safety of operations, and all the quality controls that they were having difficulties with before that,” he concluded.

According to The National, Clark said that the carrier is already in the process of ordering buyer-furnished equipment (BFE), which normally includes seats, galleys, and other internal fixtures for its first 777X aircraft to be installed at Boeing’s factory. Besides getting the 777X jet certified and deliveries underway. Boeing will need to ramp up production rates for the 777X as quickly as possible to meet the frustrated demand from airlines for the new jets.

Falcons Spotters / Shutterstock Filling the 777X gap

With the ongoing delivery delays to the new 777X fleet, Emirates is currently retaining older aircraft for longer and, because of this, is in the process of putting  219 aircraft through a full cabin refresh at a total investment of $5 billion. Additionally, Meanwhile, the airline has added the first five of 65 Airbus A350-900s to its fleet, which are partially helping to fill the gap while it waits for the first 777Xs.

Lastly, Clark reaffirmed Emirates’ commitment to the Airbus A380 superjumbo, of which the carrier still operates 118 jets. He said that the airline will keep flying the type in its fleet until the “back-end” of the next decade, adding that the duration of the A380s’ lifetime is related to the product support that Emirates gets, and maintaining its large stock of parts for the type, he said.

RELATED

Mega overhaul: Inside Emirates’ $5 billion A380 and 777 refurbishment project

The post Emirates boss remains optimistic for first Boeing 777X deliveries by 2027   appeared first on AeroTime.

Go to Source