Emirates Unsure On Boeing 787

Emirates’ future with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner appears no closer to being decided than when the first order was placed almost 9 years ago.

A report by Aerospace Global News, which spoke with Emirates Chief Operations Officer Adel Al Redha on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow 2025, highlighted that a firm decision is overdue.

However, the airline is also not ready to make a formal decision on the makeup of the 787 fleet moving forward, and while Boeing waits, Emirates is waiting to make its own decision.

With the 787 selling well and Boeing beginning to work out delivery schedules for much of its backlog, airlines such as Emirates need to decide on delivery windows and the variant mix.

That very variant mix is one Emirates does not seem sure of, even as 2026 rapidly approaches, which would be frustrating for Boeing, which has already experienced repeated order shifts as variants continue to change.

What makes a decision more of a struggle is Adel Al Redha’s suggestion that each Boeing 787 Dreamliner variant can offer something different; however, as the airline has developed over the years, certain variants that may have initially been ordered may no longer have a place in the fleet due to other decisions.

At least for the moment, the Dubai-based carrier is buying its time, ensuring that it can make the decision at the last possible moment and only when it feels ready. What this means is that, at least according to fresh comments, the variant mix has yet to be formally locked down.

Moving forward, the airline will rely on the Airbus A350 product, which is steadily being delivered after delays, and the hopeful eventual arrival of the 777X to fuel growth in the medium term.

With ongoing efforts to refurbish the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 fleets as well, the airline is looking to invest billions to elevate the cabins of these planes to better align with inbound aircraft, enabling these models to remain in service longer than would be typical under the airline’s long-established business model.

A Complicated Emirates 787 History

As always with Emirates, its order for the Boeing 787 has been complex, a theme shared across the business when it comes to new aircraft purchases.

Emirates first placed its order for the Dreamliner in 2017; the initial deal included 40 of the 787-10 models and ultimately followed roughly a decade of interest from the airline in the program to elevate its widebody flying.

For the Dubai-based carrier, the 787-10 order meant more than just a new purchase of widebody aircraft; it also represented a significant fresh phase of growth for the business as it looked to finally diversify its fleet.

The diversification of the fleet allowed Emirates to finally look to build a future without just a strict reliance on the A380 and 777 families, instead adding a more medium-sized widebody; however, it was what transpired after that that drew the most attention.

As with several other aircraft orders, Emirates quickly reconsidered the 787-10 after question marks arose over its perfromance in the airline’s network.

Two years after the airline’s purchase, the Dubai-based carrier modified its Dreamliner order yet again, adjusting the fleet mix and reducing it to 30 787-9s, removing the 787-10 completely.

However, following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline once more adjusted its future mix, with, in 2023, the plan to order 35 Boeing 787s: 20 787-8s and 15 787-10s. At the same time, flydubai purchased 787-9s.

Over the years, Emirates’ aircraft decision-making has been marked by great confusion, often raising the question of whether the business knows what its ideal fleet mix is. This is visible even with the Airbus A350 order.

Emirates ordered the A350 before the 2010s commenced, however, cancelled the jet, then re-ordered it once more, thus the process of growing its widebody fleet has been one of great interest but often equally confusing too.