Clark: Emirates Will Not Take Initial Batch Of 777-9s

FARNBOROUGH—Emirates will reject the first 10 or 11 of its huge Boeing 777X order because of their age and the number of modifications made to them, the airline’s president Tim Clark said at the show.

Speaking at a media round table at the air show, Clark said the Dubai-based carrier had informed Boeing of its decision. Emirates has 270 777-9s on order, with the first scheduled to enter service in Q2 2027.

The 777X has experienced multiple delays in its development and service entry; Emirates initially expected to take the first aircraft in 2020, around the time the COVID pandemic struck.

Those initial aircraft were produced as long ago as 2019: “If we were to take those aircraft in Q1 2027, they will be eight years old,” Clark said on Tuesday. That would be approximately half of their expected lifetime in Emirates service, he added, and as such, “They’re of no use to anybody.

“We’ve intimated to Boeing that’s not the way to go.” Clark said, adding that if he had been running Boeing, “At some point I would have provisioned for their write-off and I would have charged that to my P&L [profit and loss accounts]. There’s no point leaving them on your balance sheet.”

Boeing might be able to sell them on at a hugely reduced price to another airline, he added: “That’s the commercial reality now.” However, he said he expected Boeing to scrap the affected aircraft.

Boeing did not respond with comment at the show, but there have been several changes of senior leadership at the US company since its production problems began a few years ago. In 2024, Kelly Ortberg was appointed Boeing Company president, and Stephanie Pope became Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO and Boeing Company EVP.

Boeing gained FAA Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) Phase 4B approval for the 777-9 earlier this year, which Pope described as a “a big, big milestone” toward certification.

Pope also told ATW earlier this year that 737 MAX-7, 787-10 and 777-9 certifications were her top priorities.