Emirates Delays Airbus A350 Flights (Again)

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 second time…

Emirates delays Airbus A350 inaugural by weeks

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).

Now the airline has updated its schedule yet again, to reflect a roughly additional four week delay. Specifically, here are Emirates’ new entry into service plans for the A350, as flagged by AeroRoutes:

• As of December 2, 2024, the A350 will fly between Dubai (DXB) and Edinburgh (EDI); previously this was planned for November 4, 2024
• As of January 1, 2025, the A350 will fly between Dubai (DXB) and Bahrain (BAH); previously this was planned for November 15, 2024
• As of January 1, 2025, the A350 will fly between Dubai (DXB) and Kuwait City (KWI); previously this was planned for November 15, 2024

I of course wouldn’t count on this new schedule sticking either, since we’ve already seen two delays. It seems like Emirates’ A350 entry into service is very much a moving target at this point.

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 weeks 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 two delays. Now, I am curious what is causing this delay — is it the plane as such, or the 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 had 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 has just 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 second time, and has pushed back its A350 schedule by roughly an additional month, to December 2024. 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?