Emirates in talks to order Airbus jets after calling engines 'defective'

Emirates is in advanced talks to order at least 30 of Airbus SE’s largest widebody jets, according to people familiar with the matter, signalling a shift in the carrier’s long-standing criticism of the quality of engines made by Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc.

The Dubai-based carrier is looking to purchase A350-1000 aircraft, with options to order more, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are ongoing and confidential.

Dubai Air Show in focus

An agreement may be announced at the Dubai Air Show that starts Monday, though successful completion of the talks isn’t guaranteed.

Deals with Emirates are often finalised only a few days or even hours before an announcement is made. Some previous accords between the carrier and the European planemaker fell apart at the last minute, including a major order for the jumbo A380 in 2017 and another for the A350-1000 two years ago.

Emirates and Rolls-Royce declined to comment. An Airbus spokesperson said the company is always in contact with existing and potential customers, and any discussions remain confidential.

At the 2023 Dubai show, Emirates agreed to take 15 of Airbus’ shorter A350-900, a relatively small number for a carrier known for making major purchases with Airbus and Boeing Co. Emirates President Tim Clark decided against ordering the larger variant because of what he called “defective” engines made by Rolls-Royce.

Reliability

At the time, he said the turbines had overly frequent maintenance cycles.

Reliability is particularly important for carriers in the Middle East who run their aircraft in hot and demanding cycles, putting more strain on their planes.

The deal would be a major boost for the Rolls-Royce product in the Middle East and for its relationship with the executive running the world’s largest international airline.

Rolls-Royce has been working to improve the performance and durability of the engine as part of a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) investment. The UK-based company has been testing the new model by spraying sand at its blades.

Other carriers in the region have raised similar concerns about the turbines. Most recently, Qatar Airways decided to throw its weight behind Boeing for a record widebody order, and the decision not to order any additional Airbus A350 jets was partially due to the Rolls-Royce engine, Bloomberg reported earlier this year.

Etihad Airways also faces issues with the maintenance cycles for the same engine.

This year’s show may be the final one for Clark, 75, who announced plans to retire in 2019 but then reversed course because of the global pandemic.

If the current talks with Airbus are successful, the order will help shape the airline’s future fleet, which is currently built mainly around the existing Boeing 777 and the out-of-production A380.

The carrier also has an order book for more than 200 of Boeing’s yet-to-be certified 777X.

For Airbus, this will be the last show for its commercial chief executive officer, Christian Scherer, who’s spent more than four decades at the France-based manufacturer.