Emirates pushes Boeing for the upgraded B777 decision

Emirates Airline is pushing US manufacturer Boeing to progress its plans for an upgraded B777.

Industry analyst Saj Ahmad said: “"As the largest customer and operator of the 777, and the only airline in the world to operate all six variants of the 777 family, it comes as little surprise that Emirates is pushing Boeing to firm up plans for a new 777X family. At present, the 777X comprises of two airplanes - a longer range 777-8X aimed at replacing the 777-200LR and a slightly stretched 777-9X that would replace the hot-selling 777-300ER.”

Emirates president Tim Clark was speaking in a conference in Barcelona yesterday and was quoted by news agency Bloomberg as saying: ““We want it done now so they have the plane in 2019.”

Boeing has been mulling over the upgrade for the popular triple seven – Emirates took the one thousandth aircraft to have come off the line earlier this year – and it is understood that the Commercial Airplanes division will be taking a proposition to the Boeing board next year.

But Clark, and other airlines, claim they need the replacement sooner.

According to Ahmad Emirates has been badly burned by Airbus' delays to the A380 and with recent revelations about cracks to the wing ribs and costly repairs that are needed, the airline is also going to be the biggest A380 customer affected when these airplanes have to be withdrawn from service to be repaired.  “Emirates therefore is hedging its bets and wants something it knows that is less risky to enter service and integrate seamlessly into its fleet,” Ahmad said.

In his interview with Bloomberg, Clark said “Boeing had a hugely enthusiastic response when they spoke to all operators of the 777, so in terms of the business case that has to go before the board, I believe they’ve got what they need.” He said he remained concerned that Boeing’s struggles with the 787 Dreamliner, which was more than three years late entering service, would stall a 777 decision.

“They screwed up badly on the non-recurring costs on the 787,” Clark said.

Ahmad argues that Boeing could benefit from rival Airbus’ delays and deliberations over its A350XWB programme.

“Emirates has one key advantage, in that it still has plenty of 777-300ERs on order, the airline is keen for a quick 777X launch for service entry by the end of the decade. And with questions swirling about whether Emirates intends to stick with the poor-selling A350-1000, it's no surprise to see them leading the charge for Boeing's next new widebody airplane," he said.