Emirates’ current situation might just be the clearest example of how the aircraft manufacturer duopoly leaves airlines choosing between the lesser of evils, rather than something they’re actually excited about…
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Emirates reportedly plans to order 30+ A350-1000s
Until recently, Emirates had a really streamlined fleet, consisting of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s. No airline loves the A380 as much as Emirates, though unfortunately even Emirates’ commitment to order more of the planes wasn’t enough to get Airbus (and a partner) to invest in new engines, and keep production going.
Emirates’ initial plan was to rely almost exclusively on the Boeing 777X for fleet renewal, since that’s the largest aircraft that’s expected to be manufactured in the future. The airline has 205 of these planes on order, and desperately wants to take delivery of them.
The issue is, Boeing can’t actually get the plane certified. While it was supposed to enter service in 2020, it has now been delayed by at least seven years, so it’ll enter service in 2027 at the earliest. With every passing year, it seems like we’re one year further from the plane entering service.
So Emirates has had to get creative in recent years, and order other aircraft. We’ve seen Emirates order 65 Airbus A350-900s (which have already started to join the fleet). We’ve also seen Emirates order Boeing 787-8s and 787-10s, though that almost feels likes a placeholder order that can be negotiated, rather than anything else, given the lack of a firm delivery timeline.
Well, it sounds like Emirates might be planning on yet another new aircraft variant soon. Bloomberg is reporting that Emirates is in advanced talks to order at least 30 Airbus A350-1000s, with options for more. So this would be the larger variant of the A350, complementing the existing A350-900s. An agreement could be announced in the coming days, at the Dubai Air Show.
So there are no guarantees, but it sounds like this could very well become a reality sooner rather than later. It’s the latest example of Emirates just not knowing how to deal with the seemingly never-ending 777X delivery delays.
Emirates would order A350-1000s in spite of criticism
The Airbus A350-1000 is an incredible plane for passengers, and it has amazing per-seat economics. So you might be thinking to yourself “well that sounds like a great fit for Emirates, why hasn’t the airline already ordered this plane?”
Well, Emirates doesn’t think so highly of the plane. Emirates executives have long criticized the A350-1000, with Emirates President Tim Clark in the past having called the Rolls-Royce engines on the plane “defective.”
The turbines on the A350-1000 have overly frequent maintenance cycles, making reliability of the aircraft an issue. This is especially rough in the Middle East, where hot weather puts even more strain on the plane (including the engines).
Rivals Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways both fly the A350-1000, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have issues with the plane. For example, Qatar Airways has elected not to order more A350s, and has instead recently placed a huge Boeing aircraft order.
Rolls-Royce has been working on improving the performance and durability of these engines, as part of a $1.3 billion investment. In testing, the company has even been spraying sand into the blades, to simulate conditions in the Middle East. We’ll see what comes of this, but it’s hard to rely on something that isn’t yet a sure bet.
Bottom line
Emirates is reportedly nearing an order for at least 30 Airbus A350-1000s. While the airline really wants the Boeing 777X, that plane has now been delayed by at least seven years, so Emirates can no longer rely on the plane for growth.
Emirates has already started taking delivery of some A350-900s, and may now pick up the bigger variant as well. The issue is that the A350-1000 has serious engine durability issues, which are especially bad in the Middle East, given the climate.
It really is a sad state of affairs for aircraft manufacturing, eh? Though in fairness, in this case it’s the engine manufacturer rather than the aircraft manufacturer as such.
What do you make of Emirates’ potential Airbus A350-1000 order?
So why are airlines ordering and flying planes they claim are defective?
I don’t believe these planes are defective at all. The engines just may have lesser performance than hoped for or need maintenance more often that desirable from a financial viewpoint. They work fine. I’m not sure I’ve heard of a major incident with an A350.
You are confusing reliability and availability. By all metrics used by professionals in the field, the A350 is a bloody reliable aircraft.
Such click-bait / misleading title.
Pretty sure if Tim Clark reaches an agreement it will be with the improve engines.
There isn't a fan of aviation that shouldn't be amazed at the engineering that goes on in modern jet engines which are expected to operate flawlessly for the better part of a day and be more efficient than any other form of transportation over long distances.
the Rolls Royce issues seem to be an issue w/ the desert. Many airlines use the 35K outside of the Middle East and make it work. Sure, Airbus...
There isn't a fan of aviation that shouldn't be amazed at the engineering that goes on in modern jet engines which are expected to operate flawlessly for the better part of a day and be more efficient than any other form of transportation over long distances.
the Rolls Royce issues seem to be an issue w/ the desert. Many airlines use the 35K outside of the Middle East and make it work. Sure, Airbus and Rolls-Royce are selling to Middle East airlines but Rolls Royce is fixing the problems.
the bigger issue is that EK bet on the A380 and it was an economic failure for Airbus and then put their cards on the next largest airplane - the 777X - which has been a customer nightmare. Given that EK's business plan is all about being a mass high end airline, losing the "mass" has implications for EK's future
And apparently Etihad is apparently considering placing an order for A330neos which is more surprising.
Airbus can deliver them fairly quickly and do so at lower prices than other new widebodies. The 330NEO is a decent medium sized widebody
And just to refresh your memory heh:
"The 787-9 has greater range but it is not needed for 350 operators, of which CX is one of the largest.
The 787-10 is larger and more cost-efficient than the 339 but overlaps with the 350.
It is very unlikely that many airlines will order both the 787 and an A330/350 combination."
Yeah i took last year Delta A330 Neo from FCO-JFK and its an excellent plane very quiet, refined and comfortable.
“hard to rely on something that isn’t yet a sure bet.”… because the 777-X is???? My comment is more towards Emirates more than anything… they don’t want the “lesser evil” and would happily take the complete unknown blindly!
While hindsight is always 20/20, Airbus agreeing to give RR an exclusive on manufacturing A350 powerplants was a huge mistake. Shutting out GE, CFM, and P&W may have sounded good at the time, but from a risk management standpoint, it seems like some of the calculations and assumptions were wide off the mark.
Question: Will the A350-1000s have a first class product, or will biz. be the highest class of service?
@ TravelinWilly -- It's anyone's guess, though I'd have to imagine that it will have first class, and will be used for long haul, high demand routes.
I think this is overstating the issue with the RR engines used in the A350-1000. The only issue as far as I know was the fuel line problem that Cathay Pacific had which resulted in an AD for all airlines to inspect the engines for fuel components. None of the other airlines which have inspected the engines have reported a problem.
It would be a stretch to call this an engine reliability issue (as if...
I think this is overstating the issue with the RR engines used in the A350-1000. The only issue as far as I know was the fuel line problem that Cathay Pacific had which resulted in an AD for all airlines to inspect the engines for fuel components. None of the other airlines which have inspected the engines have reported a problem.
It would be a stretch to call this an engine reliability issue (as if there is a chronic problem) and call their durability into question.
The blog seems to be getting a bit too click-baity in headline narrative. Like the "mysterious revocation of global entry".
Just friendly feedback.
Boeing has really found themselves in quite a pickle with all their delays.
So many 777x customers must be furious.
Boeing might as well scratch the 777-X and start afresh.
Has any plane in modern times ever delayed EIS this long?