Emirates more optimistic about Boeing turnaround

“I am quite impressed with the energy and the concern they have of getting it done,” Clark said on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual general meeting in Delhi June 1.

Clark plans to visit Boeing in September to see the factories. And he still remembers having gone there in 2023. Back then, “I ran out screaming thinking this is going nowhere.”

Emirates has firm orders for 205 777Xs the first of which should have arrived in 2020. Clark now says that he is becoming more confident in Boeing’s ability to deliver the first aircraft between the third quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027. Its current contract with Boeing requires the manufacturer to deliver the first jet to Emirates by October 2025.

While that target is now unachievable, Clark is seeing “a high degree of determination [of Boeing’s management]. All the things that we have called out for are being dealt with. There is a glimmer if light.”

“We are getting clearer messages from Boeing,” Clark said. If Boeing manages to get through ETOPS certification by the first quarter of 2026, “it could be ready for entry-into-service by the autumn of next year to whoever the first customer is.“ Emirates is beginning to buy buyer furnished equipment for its first aircraft to be installed in Everett.

But he cautioned that beyond finalising flight tests and certification, Boeing faces the additional challenge of ramping up production as fast as possible. If Boeing had stuck to the original schedule, Emirates would operate 80 777-9s today.

Meanwhile, Emirates has taken delivery of the first four of 65 Airbus A350-900s on firm order. Clark said he is pleased with the performance and the dispatch reliability of both the aircraft and the engines. “[Deliveries] are constantly delayed, but when they do fly they are very popular,” he said.

Emirates had looked at a large order for the -1000 at the 2023 Dubai Airshow, but shelved the project over concerns about the durability of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. Clark said Rolls-Royce has promised to get the engines up to 2,000-2,500 cycles, but he has not seen any guarantees and firm commitments to that. He said it was doubtful that Rolls-Royce could come up with a package that satisfies Emirates in time for the November Dubai Airshow, where the airline usually announces large orders.