Emirates Orders Even More Boeing 777Xs, Despite Certification Issues

Emirates has just placed another massive aircraft order, though what does that really even mean at this point? It’s a big day for Emirates, as the airline has also announced plans to introduce Starlink Wi-Fi.

Emirates ups Boeing 777X order by 65, to 270 jets

Emirates has today announced that it has increased its Boeing 777-9 order by 65 aircraft, meaning the airline now has 270 of these planes on order. The planes are expected to be delivered to Emirates through 2038, and at list prices (which airlines never pay), this incremental order is worth $38 billion.

As a reminder, the 777X is Boeing’s latest generation version of the 777, and it’s the largest passenger plane that’s currently planned to be in production. Unfortunately we’ve seen massive delays with the plane — while it was supposed to enter service in 2020, it has been delayed by at least seven years, through 2027. Every time that I think the plane might actually enter service, it gets delayed by another year, so let’s see how this plays out.

The agreement with Boeing includes options to convert the latest order into either the 777-8 or 777-10. The 777-10 doesn’t actually exist yet, but Emirates is arguing that this provides strong backing for a 777-10 feasibility study. After all, Emirates wants planes that are as big as possible. If Boeing starts working on the 777-10 now, maybe it can be certified by 2070!

Emirates currently has a fleet of 269 aircraft, and it now has 367 more frames on order. This includes 52 additional Airbus A350-900s, 270 Boeing 777-9s, 10 Boeing 777 freighters, and 35 Boeing 787s.

Here’s how Emirates CEO Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum describes this latest development:

“Emirates is already the world’s largest Boeing 777 operator and we are expanding our commitment to the programme today with additional orders worth US$ 38 billion for 65 Boeing 777-9s, and 130 GE9X engines. This is a long-term commitment and testament to our partnership with Boeing and GE, and to US aerospace.”

“Each of our aircraft on order has been carefully factored into Emirates’ expansion plan, which is aligned to Dubai’s growth plans. Flying a young and modern fleet with innovative cabin products has always been a cornerstone of Emirates’ strategy, and we look forward to continue working closely with Boeing to receive delivery of our first 777-9s from Q2 of 2027, and to equip our latest aircraft with state-of-the-art, industry-leading onboard products.”

“Emirates has been open about the fact that we are keen for manufacturers to build larger capacity aircraft, which are more efficient to operate especially with projected air traffic growth and increasing constraints at airports. We fully support Boeing’s feasibility study to develop the 777-10 and have options to convert our latest 777-9 order to the 777-10 or the 777-8.”

What can we make of Emirates’ top-up Boeing 777X order?

Emirates is such a funny airline, because its massive size distorts the excitement we’d otherwise feel about an aircraft order like this. Emirates’ incremental Boeing 777X order is bigger than any other carrier’s total 777X order, just to put things into perspective.

But that’s also not surprising. When the Airbus A380 was in production, Emirates ordered as many of those as all other airlines combined, and it’s turning out to be a similar story for the 777X.

Emirates has an incredibly efficient hub and great geography, and there are seemingly no limits to how many passengers the airline can transport, as long as regulatory issues aren’t at play.

But the truth is that it doesn’t matter if Emirates has 10, 100, or 1,000 777Xs on order, if Boeing can’t actually get the plane certified. I have to imagine that Emirates has huge flexibility with this order, given the extent to which the airline is supporting the 777X program, plus the seven year delay, and counting.

We’ll see how this plays out, but if this actually materializes (and that’s a big “if”), this might be the largest wide body fleet of any one aircraft type ever. I can’t think of any other airline that has operated a fleet of anywhere close to 270 of the same wide body aircraft.

Emirates is also rumored to be planning an Airbus A350-1000 order, given the uncertainty surrounding the 777X.

Bottom line

Emirates has just ordered another 65 Boeing 777Xs, bringing the carrier’s order book for the aircraft to 270. That’s an astonishingly big order. The issue is that the 777X still isn’t actually certified, and it’s now seven years behind schedule, with the potential for that to slip further.

Given that Emirates needs to replace the A380, it’s not surprising to see the airline ordering so many 777Xs. I assume the airline has a ton of flexibility with this order, given what a good customer it is, plus the ongoing delays.

What do you make of Emirates’ latest Boeing 777X order?