It was Boeing and the host company’s day. Emirates will inaugurate the Dubai Air Show which runs at Emirates until November 21. The American manufacturer, after a light edition at the Paris show, opened the biennial aviation show with a massive order for 65 777-9 aircraft, establishing itself as the main long-haul company of American manufacturers. This order could be converted to the 777-X version, which is still under certification, whose first delivery is expected in 2027. With this new announcement, Emirates increases its order book to 270 aircraft, currently all in the 777-9 variant.
Competition with Airbus in the long term
A deal with Boeing could hurt Airbus, which is in the running to sign a deal with Emirates for its A350-1000 long-haul model, which competes with the 777X. Emirates President Tim Clark criticized the Rolls Royce A350-1000 engines for requiring too much maintenance in the hot and harsh climate where Emirates operates.
On the first day of the air show, the European manufacturer announced it was studying a stretched version of the Airbus A350 family of 400-seat wide-body aircraft after Boeing said it was thinking the same for the B777X. Christian Scherer, CEO of the commercial aircraft division, announced that the new version of the A350-1000 will be more efficient due to the use of carbon fiber. The clash between two big names in the world of civil aviation is not limited to new aircraft technology. Scherer noted that Boeing has struck major deals in the past year, helped in large part by Trump using his influence during state visits or tariff negotiations. «As far as we are concerned, we just need to continue to improve, to be more innovative, to answer the needs of our customers», added the CEO. This is the case of Emirates which has built its fleet around the wide-body aircraft it manages from its hub in Dubai. Apart from being one of Boeing’s main customers, the airline is also the main operator of Airbus’s now discontinued A380 double-decker aircraft. Clark has publicly expressed his frustration with both aircraft manufacturers over delivery delays. Emirates was forced to use older aircraft from its existing fleet with the help of a complex and expensive Airbus 380 and Boeing 777 modernization program.
Ethiopians voted again for Boeing after the crash
From long-haul to medium-haul aircraft with Boeing still the protagonist for the order of 11 B737-Max by Ethiopian Airlines. The African company has ordered 29 737 MAX units in 2023, and has received 22 so far. Ethiopian has been a long-standing Boeing customer for almost 80 years and has almost all Boeing aircraft models in its fleet in different versions. Relations hit a crisis in 2019, when a new Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed shortly after takeoff, causing the deaths of 149 passengers and eight crew. Signing the MAX order in 2023 was seen as a vote of confidence in Boeing’s ability to solve that problem, and this latest order strengthens that partnership. Ethiopia does not rule out the possibility of a new order for B787 long-haul aircraft which will be added to its existing fleet, 20 787-8 units and 10 787-9 units.
