Emirates rejects delivery of Boeing 777-9 aircraft

Emirates, one of the world's largest air carriers, has abandoned plans to purchase the first ten Boeing 777-9 aircraft manufactured by the Boeing Corporation. Speaking at the Farnborough Airshow, Emirates President Tim Clark officially confirmed the decision not to accept these airliners. This decision highlights the complexity surrounding one of the most anticipated projects in the aviation market. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports .

We are talking about aircraft assembled between 2019 and 2021. According to initial plans, these airliners were supposed to be commissioned in April 2020. However, due to years of delays in the Boeing 777X program, these aircraft will be at least eight years old by the time they reach the customer. According to Tim Clark, these machines would require a massive and expensive modernization to meet current technical requirements.

"Raw material for tin cans"

In his speech, the airline head criticized Boeing's management with unexpectedly harsh statements. He emphasized that these early-stage production aircraft are morally obsolete today. Tim Clark even jokingly remarked that these airliners might only interest the Heinz company. In his opinion, these aircraft could only be used as scrap metal to make "tin cans for beans."

According to ixbt.com, Boeing is currently looking for new buyers for these ten aircraft. However, the real situation in the market shows that selling them is almost impossible. Clark believes that unless the price of each aircraft is dropped to $10 million, no one will buy equipment with such an outdated configuration. For comparison, the catalog price of new Boeing 777-9 aircraft is several hundred million dollars.

Technical issues and future plans

Industry sources report that the Boeing 777X design was modified several times during the development process. As a result, the first assembled units are so far behind current standards that they require serious reworking. The Boeing Corporation had previously admitted that modernizing such airliners would cost billions of dollars. It was even revealed that one of the first units intended for Emirates was deemed economically inefficient and was recently scrapped entirely.

Nevertheless, Emirates does not intend to withdraw from the 777X program entirely. According to Tim Clark, the current version of the aircraft is significantly superior to the initial units: it has a higher maximum takeoff weight and much more powerful engines. The airline plans to take delivery of the first Boeing 777-9 airliner in the updated configuration in the second quarter of 2027.

In the coming months, the partnership between Boeing and Emirates will enter a new phase. In September, one of the 777X prototypes will be brought to Dubai. There, the aircraft will be tested in extreme hot climate conditions. This is also significant for regions with hot climates, as the durability of new-generation airliners is determined in exactly these types of tests.