Emirates First 777X Could Be Delayed Until 2026

The Boeing 777X delivery with Emirates is once more in doubt of being achieved at its newly revised target timeline per new comments by Tim Clark, the Emirates president.

When speaking with the UK Aviation Club, Clark highlighted how no day is quite the same in dealing with the American plane maker, and as a result, there are visible concerns around delivery.

Boeing’s 777X has long battled certification delays. Initially slated to enter service in 2020, this aircraft has seen the timeframe considerably pushed back over time.

As part of the latest round of revisions, Boeing believed a 2025 EIS would be achievable and was moving ahead with this diligently. The largest customer, Emirates, is doubting the possibility of getting these planes by the end of the following year.

As a result, this would see delivery for the aircraft, per the latest comments, slip into 2026. Staggeringly for the Dubai-based airline, the company would acquire the 777X some 14 years after it first committed to the aircraft if these delays did occur.

Additionally, the aircraft would touchdown with Emirates 6 years later than what was scheduled when they first ordered the aircraft. Delivery delays and EIS delays aren’t uncommon in the industry; however, Emirates’ frustrations have been more than present.

While Emirates believes a 2026 delivery is now more achievable, even if this occurred in the early months of the year, this doesn’t mean Emirates would immediately enter the type into service. As a result, the overall timeframe for an EIS remains unclear.

Emirates Critical Of Boeing

Emirates has long been critical of Boeing, with its president, Tim Clark, not afraid to speak about certain internal decisions that impact the manufacturer.

Following the latest door blowout incident and subsequent quality concerns, Clark said this is essentially their last chance. Clark believes a way to rectify a lot of what has occurred in recent years would be to see a substantial change in management.

These words are similar to those by current and past employees who have highlighted the disconnect between those on the floor and those in the offices. The FAA has issued a 90-day order for Boeing to put forward a comprehensive turnaround plan that’ll address critical concerns and allow them to implement key strategies to become a leader in the industry again.

Clark, while being critical, has always applauded the type of planes Boeing offers and that its engineers are among the best industry-wide. However, those workers are being let down thanks to decisions being made higher up.

The continued mismanagement and quality issues that have plagued the airline since the 2010s are the same reason, among others, for why airlines such as Emirates cannot acquire their new planes on time.