Emirates expects 777X to miss 2021 debut
Dubai carrier may accelerate deliveries of Dreamliners
Boeing Co.’s new 777X jet is likely to miss its planned debut next year, according to the aircraft’s top customer Emirates, which doesn’t expect to receive any planes before 2022.
Deliveries of the wide-body jet, which first flew in January, will probably be held up by Boeing’s shutdown at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, together with a lengthy certification process, Adel Al Redha, the Gulf carrier’s chief operating officer, said.
Emirates is also considering whether to seek a swap of some of the 115 777Xs it has on order — representing more than a third of the total backlog — for the smaller 787 Dreamliner, which might be better matched to demand, he said. Accelerating deliveries from an earlier Dreamliner order is a “possibility,” he said.
“We will be discussing with
Boeing in that regard, if we look what we can do with the 787,” Al Redha said. “We are in a fluid discussion and in the peak of re-examining all these kind of things. It does require re-examination, it does require re-thinking, it does require renegotiation.”
Other buyers are also resisting taking delivery of such a large plane when they’re being compelled to shrink operations, according to sources.
Delays
Boeing is looking at delaying the upgraded 777’s introduction, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing confidential matters. The company’s first new-jet introduction since the grounding of its 737 Max after two fatal crashes also faces increased scrutiny from the US Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators.
“I don’t see that they will be able to deliver the aircraft in 2021,” Al Redha said. “We will engage with Boeing to get more visibility. I think 2022 is a safe assumption to make.”