Emirates President Tim Clark has issued a call for compensation from Boeing due to ongoing delays in the delivery of the new B777X aircraft. During a press conference at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting in Dubai on June 2nd, Clark articulated frustrations over the uncertainties surrounding the delivery schedule of the new jets.
He emphasized the operational challenges these delays impose on Emirates, stressing the need for Boeing to shoulder the financial burden of refurbishing Emirates’ existing B777 fleet. “We need our airplanes, we cannot face constant delays. We’ve got a business to run, and the bill for refurbishing all these airplanes should be put at Boeing’s door,” Clark stated, according to Reuters.
A Boeing spokesperson offered no comment when approached by ch-aviation, according to the publication).
Clark further revealed that Boeing has been unable to provide a precise timeline for when the B777X deliveries might commence. Currently, Emirates is upgrading the cabins of 191 aircraft, including twenty-eight B777s, underscoring the scale of its fleet modernization efforts. According to the ch-aviation fleets, Emirates has placed orders for 210 B777 aircraft, including variants such as 170 B777-9s, thirty-five B777-8s, and five B777-200Fs. The airline’s existing fleet includes 122 B777-300ERs, ten B777-200LRs, and eleven B777-200Fs.
Boeing, in its first quarter 2024 financial disclosure, projected that the first B777X would be delivered in 2025, marking a five-year delay from the original schedule. The manufacturer is currently seeking approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to initiate certification flight tests. As of March 31, 2024, Boeing reported a backlog of 444 undelivered B777X orders, an increase from the previous year’s total of 416. Despite these challenges, Boeing has maintained a production rate of four aircraft per month across the B777/B777X programs and anticipates the first B777-9 delivery in 2025, the first B777-8F in 2027, and the first passenger B777-8 in 2030.
In a dialogue with The Air Current, Clark expressed concerns about the impact of production quality issues, notably those associated with the B737 MAX, on the B777X test-flight program. He now expects the first Emirates B777 delivery to occur in the second quarter of 2026.
Reflecting broader leadership sentiments within Emirates, Clark suggested that Boeing would need approximately five years to overcome its current safety and quality challenges and meet the demands of its global customers. “Boeing needs to reflect on what went wrong over the last ten to 15 years and figure out how to fix it,” he explained. “They need to return to their previous standards. If they do that, the entire process is salvageable and fixable and we can get things back to where they need to be. How long will that take? I think we’re looking at a five-year hiatus.”
This perspective aligns with recent statements by Emirates chairman and CEO Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who has openly urged Boeing “to get its act together.”
In a recent briefing, the FAA outlined its review of Boeing’s roadmap to amend systemic safety and quality-control issues. This followed a comprehensive meeting with senior Boeing executives, who presented a detailed plan to overhaul their safety protocols. FAA administrator Mike Whitaker emphasized the importance of Boeing implementing a robust safety management system to effectively identify and mitigate risks, committing to ongoing oversight to ensure the efficacy of Boeing’s corrective measures.