Emirates President Tim Clark predicted the Boeing Co. 777X aircraft won't enter commercial service before 2026, further extending the delay of the widebody jet that will become a mainstay of the Dubai carrier's future longhaul fleet.
Boeing is currently taking the aircraft through its certification program, and regulators will be "doubly rigorous in everything they do and rightly so," Clark predicted.
"Nobody should be rushed, and any remediation work should be done openly, transparently and with whatever time it takes," the executive said in an interview at the Farnborough International Airshow.
The planemaker started conducting flight trials of the aircraft with US regulators on board on Friday, achieving a milestone toward certifying its jumbo airliner after years of setbacks. But Clark said getting the plane signed off and into commercial service is only one part of Boeing's challenge.
An equally big task will be to ramp up production in order to satisfy a backlog that extends to more than 400 aircraft. Given Boeing is likely to only make three of the jets a month initially, working through that order book will take years, Clark said.
At the same time, given Emirates' share of the program with more than 200 777X on order, Clark said he would not "take kindly to being pushed back by people coming in later in the program or even the freighter" version.
The years-long delays of the aircraft have forced Emirates into some costly design changes. Clark said he had to scrap the original interior design for the plane "- at one point earmarked to fly commercially in 2020 "- because the cabin's technology and general look were outdated. The setbacks have also prompted the airline to expand its retrofit program to include more jets, costing an additional $1.5 billion.
Clark said he wants to stress-test the General Electric Co.-made engine on the 777X next summer under the harsh weather conditions in Dubai before taking delivery of the jets. The largest variant, the 777-9, will typically seat 426 passengers, according to Boeing.
Neighboring Qatar Airways, which has more than 70 of the model on order, expects its first delivery in the first quarter of 2026, Chief Executive Officer Badr Al Meer said in a separate interview at the show on Monday.
Emirates has built its fleet around two main aircraft: the Boeing 777 and the Airbus SE A380 double-decker. With Boeing's next-generation model of that plane delayed and Airbus ending production of the A380, Clark has been forced to extend the existing jets' lifespan by putting them through an extensive retrofit program.
The airline has also ordered the Airbus A350, though Clark has been critical of the aircraft's engines because he says they need too much maintenance in the harsh climate in which Emirates operates. Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc has pledged to invest in the engines to improve their reliability.
"We're always happy to hear anything that they can demonstrate that works, that gets us closer," said Clark, adding that he's meeting with Rolls-Royce on Tuesday. "The action is what we need to see."
