Emirates backs larger Boeing 777X and rules out A350-1000 order at Dubai Airshow

Emirates Airline is confident in Boeing’s plans for a larger 777X and has ruled out ordering Airbus’s A350-1000 at the Dubai Airshow.

Emirates President Tim Clark reaffirmed support for Boeing’s wide-body programme even as the U.S. manufacturer concentrates on certifying the current 777X variant, which has faced repeated delays.

Clark told reporters the airline had no plans of adding further orders at the show, a day after agreeing to buy 65 additional 777X jets. Boeing announced on Sunday that it would study a stretched version of the model.

He dismissed market speculation that Emirates might place an A350-1000 order, saying it had never been under consideration.

Airbus failed to secure a deal for the aircraft at the 2023 Dubai Airshow after the carrier raised concerns about the maintenance performance of Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB-97 engine.

Clark praised the smaller A350-900 as a “peach of an aircraft” and said Emirates expected to acquire more of them in future.

Boeing last month disclosed a further delay to the 777X and booked a $4.9 billion charge, with first deliveries now pushed to 2027, seven years behind the original schedule.

The U.S. company has been aiming to reset its relations with staff, customers and suppliers after a more than five-year corporate crisis that disrupted production and sent it deeply into debt.

Copied