Emirates is unhappy with the long delays to Boeing's 777X wide-body programme and expects the US plane maker's new management to fix the issues, the airline's chief executive has said.
The airline has received assurances from Boeing that it will address the issue, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and Group, told reporters during the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Tuesday.
"I am not happy. I hope that the new management today will put all the effort to fix the delivery of Boeing's 777X. I met with the management some time ago and they promised to do their best to fix it," he said.
Uncertainty over the delivery date of the 777X jets is "putting a lot of pressure" on the airline's seat capacity and resulted in its multibillion-dollar retrofit programme to upgrade the interiors of older aircraft to keep them in service for longer, he said.
The certification of Boeing's 777X aircraft is now expected to take place in the first quarter of 2025, he said.
Emirates is the largest customer of Boeing's 777X, which will be the aviation industry's biggest twin-engine jet when it enters into service. The plane has been delayed by about five years due to problems including certification hold-ups.
At the Dubai Airshow in November, Emirates signed a deal for firm orders for 55 additional Boeing 777-9s and 35 Boeing 777-8s. This took the airline’s 777X order book to a total of 205 jets.
Out of its previous order of 115 Boeing 777Xs, the first 777-9 is expected to join Emirates’ fleet in 2025.
On Tuesday, Emirates said it will completely refurbish an additional 43 Airbus A380s and 28 Boeing 777 aircraft, expanding its retrofit programme to 191 jets.
The initial plan had called for 120 planes – 67 Airbus A380s and 53 Boeing 777s – to undergo full refurbishment.
The airline is topping up its multibillion-dollar investment in the retrofit programme to prolong the lifetime of its older twin-aisle aircraft amid long delays to the 777X programme.
Emirates' move to DWC
Emirates is expected to move its operations to the new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) in 2034 and "it will be in one go", Sheikh Ahmed said on Tuesday.
Emirates, the world's largest airline by international traffic, has a fleet of 260 planes and carried 43.6 million passengers in its last fiscal year, making the move a major undertaking.
"I think you will wake up one day and see the terminal is open, it is tested and you will see your Emirates flight from Al Maktoum [airport]," he said.
Last month, Dubai said it approved designs for a new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International and began construction at a cost of Dh128 billion ($34.8 billion).
Sheikh Ahmed said he was "not worried" about the financing for the mega-project.
"A lot of companies, locally and internationally, will be very keen on financing this project, from [the] baggage-handling system to parking to the terminal [building]," he said.
The latest announcement of the new terminal comes after Dubai had set out an earlier plan in 2014 for a $33 billion expansion of DWC in phases.
However, Sheikh Ahmed said he was confident the new terminal project will proceed as scheduled, as domestic airlines Emirates and Flydubai require an airport with a larger capacity to accommodate their future growth plans and large aircraft deliveries.
"We are confident that without this airport, Dubai will be going backward ... having all those aircraft coming to the fleet, they are signed orders, [means] I need gates and parking," he said.
In a separate panel on Tuesday at the Arabian Travel Market, Paul Griffiths, the chief executive of Dubai Airports, said the industry's shift towards smaller planes would change the aviation landscape significantly. Middle Eastern airports that previously could not sustain long-haul services will be connected directly to major hubs such as Dubai, he said.
This will lead to an increase in the number of destinations served by Dubai, potentially exceeding 300 cities, he said.
“The majority of the growth is going to be [in] single-aisle smaller aeroplanes because the engine and airframe technology has moved on so much that the economics of those aircraft are a bit better than the economics of their larger cousins,” Mr Griffiths said.
“What it means is that regional airports that haven't sustained long-haul service will now be connected directly to major hubs like Dubai. So you'll see a plethora of destinations. I think we'll probably get to over 300 cities that are served directly.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scoreline
Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3
- Agüero 18'
- Kompany 58'
- Silva 65'
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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Wins by KO: 26
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Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
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Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
