Emirates 'boss' tip: When will the first 777X actually be delivered. And when will the first one arrive in Dubai
Emirates is among the few airlines in the world to have only wide-body aircraft in its fleet. It is known for [...]
Emirates
DXB
United Arab Emirates
Emirates is among the few airlines in the world to have only wide body aircraft in fleet. It is known to be the 'queen' of the Airbus A380 (of which it deploys 116 specimens), less for being the airline in the world with by far the largest fleet of Boeing 777s of all its competitors.
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Today it fields 129 passenger examples of the Triple Seven (the first of which came nearly 30 years ago, in 1996): 10 from the -200LR series and 119 from the -300ER series in a variety of internal configurations.
And true to the American manufacturer's flagship product, it is now also the world's leading carrier by number of Boeing 777Xs ordered: as many as 205, including 170 of the -9 series and 35 of the smaller -8 series.
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Despite this, Dubai-based carrier will not be the first to receive Boeing's latest addition. According to the American manufacturer, the honor of taking delivery of the first of the -Xs will fall to Germany's Lufthansa. The fateful delivery, which would take place six years later than Boeing originally planned, Should be realized in the first half of 2026.
But, recently, Emirates chairman Tim Clark questioned even that deadline. As all TFC readers know, the 777X is still completing the certification process by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and, to date, there is no date by which this process should be completed.
Speaking at the general assembly of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Clark explained that, should Boeing succeed in its intent to complete testing for Extended Twin Engine Operations (ETOPS) by the first quarter of 2026, the airplane could reasonably enter service not in the first, but in the second half of 2026.
And, according to Bloomberg reports., this being the case, Emirates could receive the first of its 777-Xs during the second quarter of 2027 (i.e., almost two years from today's date), But it does not rule out that in fact the first plane will arrive in Dubai in early 2028. At that point, it would be a full 15 years since Emirates sealed the first of its orders for the 777X during the 2013 Dubai Airshow.
