Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Emirates airlines expects the first aircraft of its delayed Boeing 777X order to arrive in the second half of next year, the group’s chairman and chief executive told reporters on Tuesday.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, asked about the 777X delivery during a roundtable event at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, said that the company expects “in the second half of 2026… to receive the first aircraft”.
In 2024, Sheikh Ahmed urged Boeing to “fix” its problems, warning the embattled aircraft-maker he was unhappy with delays to the 777X.
The US manufacturer had been mired in problems including safety concerns after two 737 MAX crashes within five months and another scare involving the aircraft over Alaska in January 2024.
Boeing had already pushed back the first delivery of the 777X to 2026 from 2025.
Dubai-based Emirates, the Middle East’s biggest airline and the biggest operator of 777 planes, has 205 777Xs on order worth billions.
In November 2023, it made a $52 billion order for 55 Boeing 777-9s, 35 777-8s and five 787 Dreamliners.
Emirates had already said it was retrofitting its fleet to make up for the delays. On Tuesday its chairman said the group would retrofit “90 percent of our total fleet”.
