It’s an exciting time for Emirates, as the Dubai-based carrier is shortly supposed to take delivery of its very first Airbus A350-900. However, unfortunately this plane’s entry into service has just been delayed for a fourth time, and has now been pushed off into next year.
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Emirates delays Airbus A350 inaugural for fourth time
Emirates has a total of 65 Airbus A350-900 aircraft on order. These planes are expected to be delivered as of this year. The carrier’s plan was to start taking delivery of this jet as of the third quarter:
- Initially, the inaugural A350 flight was scheduled for September 15, 2024, between Dubai (DXB) and Bahrain (BAH)
- Unfortunately in late June 2024, the airline updated its schedule to reflect A350 delivery delays; with that update, the inaugural A350 flight was scheduled for November 4, 2024, between Dubai (DXB) and Edinburgh (EDI)
- Then in early August 2024, the airline updated its schedule again, to delay the inaugural to December 2, 2024, on the same route
- Then in the middle of October 2024, the airline updated its schedule yet again, to delay the inaugural to December 16, 2024, on the same route
Well, just about a week after the last delay was revealed, there’s yet another delay. Emirates has now delayed its first A350 flight by roughly an additional month, to January 15, 2025. I of course wouldn’t count on this new schedule sticking either, since this is now the fourth delay. It seems like Emirates’ A350 entry into service is very much a moving target at this point.
With the updated schedule, here’s Emirates’ current plan for which destinations should get the A350 first, as flagged by AeroRoutes:
- Edinburgh (EDI) as of January 15, 2025
- Ahmedabad (AMD) as of February 1, 2025
- Bahrain (BAH) as of February 1, 2025
- Kuwait City (KWI) as of February 1, 2025
- Mumbai (BOM) as of February 1, 2025
- Colombo (CMB) as of March 1, 2025
- Lyon (LYS) as of March 1, 2025
- Bologna (BLQ) as of March 15, 2025
Is this an airplane delay or a seat delay?
If anything, I was a bit surprised when Emirates put its A350 inaugural flights on sale several months back, since I wondered if that timeline would stick. There are so many delays with new aircraft nowadays, and I find that more often than not, these kinds of first flights get pushed back.
Emirates is usually good at managing expectations, so it’s interesting to see three delays. Now, I am curious what is causing this delay — is it the plane as such, or some Emirates specific problems, like the new cabins?
Airbus has been dealing with delivery delays for many aircraft types. The situation isn’t as bad as at Boeing, but still, airlines aren’t getting their planes as fast as they’re expecting. Emirates already had significant delays with taking delivery of A350s, as the planes were first supposed to join Emirates’ fleet in 2023 (then again, it’s not nearly as bad as Emirates’ Boeing 777X situation).
However, I can’t help but wonder if the delay with the new A350s instead involves the cabins. The A350 is a new plane for Emirates, and often there can be a delay with new cabins, whether it’s with getting the seats delivered, or getting the cabins certified.
We know that Emirates’ initial A350s will feature business class, premium economy, and economy. It’s easy enough to figure out what premium economy and economy will be like, but we’re not 100% sure what business class will be like. We know the product will be in a 1-2-1 configuration, and will be produced by Safran.
Emirates recently unveiled its new 777 business class, which is really just the carrier’s A380 business class, with some slight updates. It now seems likely that this is also what Emirates will install on its A350s. Still, there could be some delays with that, especially since fitting seats onto different planes can take some effort.
Bottom line
Emirates has just canceled its Airbus A350 inaugural flight for a fourth time, and has pushed back its A350 schedule by an additional month, to January 2025. While I’m not particularly invested in Emirates flying the A350 as such, I am mighty curious to see what the cabins on this plane will be like. I’m guessing it’ll be the same as the “new” 777 business class, though who knows…
What do you make of Emirates’ A350 delays?
Deja vue…
When Emirates received their first A340-500, the airplane was delayed by a few weeks because of the then new first class suites.
Mini-suites or premium seats for first and business class can be products that are highly tailored and made to order according the specs of individual airlines.
In this case it’s highly unfortunate.
If the new business class seat design for the A350 is anything like the new 777 seat, that is...
Deja vue…
When Emirates received their first A340-500, the airplane was delayed by a few weeks because of the then new first class suites.
Mini-suites or premium seats for first and business class can be products that are highly tailored and made to order according the specs of individual airlines.
In this case it’s highly unfortunate.
If the new business class seat design for the A350 is anything like the new 777 seat, that is derivatives of the existing A380 business class seat that has been on the A380 since the start, then is falls short of expectations.
I had hoped for an A350 business class seat that would offer passengers more privacy with some kind of a partition between seat and aisle.
B.
When CX first got their A350s in 2016, the delays were attributed to the seats having to being certified which was a Safran seat so I wouldn't be surprised if they're facing the same issue.
Looks like everybody its facing delays even Iberia A321 XLR first flight was postpone.
the XLR is a new model. The A350 is not. Airbus is delivering A350s to multiple airlines on time
You'd think EK would just delay it to the start of the summer season, or something... this drip of delays helps no one and aggravates passengers, I imagine
Airbus is delivering A350s to other airlines on-time. Some of EK's aircraft have been built for months and are in flight testing. This is clearly a cabin issue and is not the only one that Airbus is managing but the airframes and engines are being produced on-time.
Maybe it's the seat manufacturer who is delaying the delivery with A350. Same happened before Lufthansa delivered two A350 with Allegris