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Read Full Issue Emirates has secured a USD 5 bn order for 15 Airbus A350-900s at the Dubai Airshow after pulling the brakes on a separate order from Airbus due to claims of engine defects and a lack of durability, according to a press release. The airline’s first A350 will be delivered in August 2024, and with these latest orders, Emirates will continue to receive A350s until early 2028, according to the release. The order will bring Emirates’ total number of A350s to 65 units.
The plan: The A350s will serve a range of new markets including long-haul missions of up to 15 hours from Dubai, Emirates Chairman and CEO Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum added.
About the A350: The aircraft is a widebody that can fly ultra-long-haul routes up to 9.7k nm, and delivers a 25% advantage in fuel burn, operating costs and CO2 emissions, as well as 50% noise reduction compared to previous generation competitor aircraft, according to Airbus’ website.
The purchase comes as a compromise after the airline backed off on a bigger order of 35-505 A350-1000 jets, citing a dispute with engine maker Rolls-Royce over the durability of its engines, Reuters cites industry sources as saying. The smaller A350-900s engines are variants of the engines of the larger A350-1000 jets, according to Reuters.
It’s not a goodbye, it’s a “see you soon”: The carrier’s President Tim Clark told Reuters that Emirates would be prepared to order 35-50 jets if the durability and maintenance costs were improved. Rolls-Royce’s Chief Customer Officer Ewen Mcdonald also took a positive approach, noting that the purchase shows trust in Rolls-Royce, the newswire said. “We will continue our discussions with Emirates on the A350-1000 engine improvements and look forward to them choosing this aircraft in the future,” he said.
Emirates was on a shopping spree at the airshow: Emirates ordered USD 52 bn worth of Boeing aircraft, including 90 Boeing 777X and five 787s, bringing Emirates’ 777X order book to a total of 205. The addition of the 95 Boeing and 15 Airbus planes brings Emirates’ total order book to 310 widebody aircraft, according to the release.
OTHER EMIRATES SPLURGES FROM THE AIRSHOW- The airline will also investUSD 950 mn to build an engineering facility for maintenance, repairs, and overhauls in Dubai World Central, with its completion slated for 2027. Emirates also purchased 202 GE9X engines to power the 777X aircraft, while inking an agreement with Dubai Aerospace Enterprise’s aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) engineering arm, Jordan Aircraft Maintenance Limited (Joramco) to provide nose-to-tail Boeing 777 maintenance services until the end of 2025. They also inked USD 1.5 worth of maintenance agreements on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow to maintain and improve operational efficiency.
