Emirates evaluates A350/777X mix in light of delays

Emirates (EK, Dubai Int’l) intends to look at its A350 and 777X orders and could review the mix of the two types in light of delays on the Boeing side, President Tim Clark told Bloomberg during the Dubai Air Show.

“There are issues still out there which Boeing has got to resolve. We also have aircraft from Airbus coming in. So we’ll have a look at all that and see how it best fits the network. In terms of mix and the absolute number, that could all change,” he said.

He underlined that Emirates was originally due to take its first 777-9 in 2020. Although the type is now scheduled for certification in mid-2023, Clark said that it was “anyone’s guess” whether this schedule would be kept and said that Emirates may get its first unit in 2024. The airline has firm orders for sixteen 777-8s and ninety-nine -9s and is Boeing’s largest customer of the family.

The airline has experience in juggling widebody orders – in 2014, it nixed an order for fifty A350-900s and twenty A350-1000s, only to reorder the -900s in 2019.

As of now, Boeing dominates Emirates’ order book – the carrier also has fifty 787-9s due from the American manufacturer. However, it also has firm orders for fifty A350-900s and two more A380-800s, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module highlights. The first of the A350s is scheduled to deliver in May 2023. It will mark Emirates’ return as an operator of Airbus twinjets having retired its last A330-200s in 2016.