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There's no airline more reliant on the Boeing 777X than Emirates, as the airline has 270 of these planes on order, and is counting on them for its fleet renewal, to eventually replace the Airbus A380. The issue, of course, is how much this plane has been delayed, as it was initially supposed to be delivered as of 2020, and now we're looking at 2027 at the earliest.
Along those lines, Emirates President Tim Clark has had some more choice words for Boeing, which I suspect will be echoed by other airline executives, and it's bad news for Boeing.
Emirates doesn't want Boeing's first 777X airframes
The first Boeing 777X was built in 2019, so at this point, the plane is around seven years old, despite having never actually operated a passenger flight. Around 10 planes were initially built, and while the expectation was that they'd be in service within a year or two, that obviously didn't turn out to be the case.
Boeing has had to make significant design changes to the aircraft, and while the idea is to modify the existing frames to make them compliant, that's easier said than done. Airlines are sort of concerned these planes will be "lemons," given the number of changes that are being made (and given that we're talking about Boeing here, who wouldn't be?).
That brings us to what Clark is saying, regarding the possibility of taking delivery of any of the first 10 aircraft:
"We're not taking that batch and that's it. As far as we're concerned, what they do with them is up to them. Heinz would be interested – baked bean cans."
"The modifications for the airframe have been so significant since the early flights. And don't forget we had a static-test failure as well. I went on the first one in 2019, which was fully configured except for our first-class cabins, and here we are in 2026. It's now seven years on. We're not taking them."
The comments from Clark follow a recent report from The Air Current, about how Boeing has quietly scrapped one of its first 777Xs, after sitting dormant for years. It's going to be fascinating to see how this plays out. Will any airline be willing to take these first batch of 777Xs, or will these just have to be scrapped? It's understandable that if you're buying a new plane, you want it to be up to the latest standards, and not a heavily modified frame.
Emirates expects Boeing 777X deliveries in Q2 2027
As it currently stands, Clark is expecting that Emirates will take delivery of its first 777X in the second quarter of 2027, though has threatened to "draw a line in the sand." As he explained:
"At some point we have to draw a line in the sand. We should have had them in April 2020, so if we get them in the second quarter of 2027, that's a bit of a stretch under any circumstances."
The current expectation is still that the plane will be certified late this year or early next year. Of course that would be nice, but that also assumes there are no additional issues. There's definitely progress being made toward certification, so as time goes on, one would assume that odds improve. Then again, that's also what I thought in 2025, 2024, 2023, etc.
I will say, it's kind of funny to hear Clark say that at some point the airline has to "draw a line in the sand." That's a completely reasonable sentiment to have, but the issue is that with the aircraft manufacturing duopoly we have, plus the engine issues, airlines really are limited in terms of which wide body planes they can choose.
Clark has in the past referred to the Airbus A350-1000 as being "defective," but it's getting to the point where he claims the airline is close to ordering that. I imagine that would delight Airbus, though even so, finding delivery slots any time in the coming years isn't exactly easy.
Bottom line
Emirates President Tim Clark understandably isn't happy with the continued delay of the Boeing 777X. It's now seven years behind schedule, best case scenario. The latest controversy surrounds the already built 777X frames, which require significant updates.
Clark says Emirates will not take delivery of those planes no matter what, and Boeing can do with them what it wants, suggesting they should be turned into baked bean cans. Obviously the potential value of these jets is in the billions of dollars, so that's potentially a big added expense for the aircraft manufacturer. It'll be interesting to see if any other airlines are willing to accept them.
What do you make of Clark's latest Boeing 777X comments?
