{"id":151627,"date":"2026-07-27T13:08:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T07:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=151627"},"modified":"2026-07-27T03:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T22:18:18","slug":"emirates-wants-larger-boeing-777x-while-refusing-early-777-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/27\/emirates-wants-larger-boeing-777x-while-refusing-early-777-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Emirates Wants Larger Boeing 777X Variant While Refusing Early 777-9s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DUBAI-<\/strong> Emirates (EK)<\/a> president Tim Clark expects Boeing to seriously examine a stretched version of the 777X, provisionally described as a 777-10, as the Dubai-based carrier waits for its long-delayed first 777-9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the Farnborough air show<\/a>, Clark also confirmed the airline will not accept the early-build 777X airframes originally assembled for it, leaving the future of those jets unresolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emirates
Photo: Cl\u00e9ment Alloing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Emirates Boeing 777X delivery delay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Clark restated his long-standing interest in a larger member of the 777X family. “As far as the ‘777-10’ is concerned\u2026we do want a bigger one,” he says, remarking that the capability of the 777-9 “is improving”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His reasoning rests on the data Boeing has accumulated during the unusually long 777-9 development programme. He points to higher take-off weights now entering the specification and additional thrust arriving from GE Aerospace<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So in the end, the amount of testing they’ve been doing on this aircraft, given the time it’s taken to get out of the door, is already telling Boeing that they have the structural metrics to actually look at a stretch on this aircraft,” Clark says. “So I’m kind of confident that that’s the way it’ll go.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also suggests the improving performance of the 777-9, combined with the prospect of a larger derivative, has “sparked interest\u2026on the other side of the Atlantic”. That is an apparent reference to Airbus and its preliminary investigation of an A350 stretch beyond the -1000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emirates
Photo: Cl\u00e9ment Alloing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Emirates Already Holds Conversion Rights to 777-10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Clark’s comments build on a commitment Emirates made eight months earlier. At the Dubai Airshow<\/a> in November 2025, the airline ordered 65 additional 777-9s worth $38 billion at list prices, taking its total Boeing orderbook to 315 widebody aircraft, comprising 270 777Xs, 10 777 freighters and 35 787s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That agreement was structured to support the larger variant directly. Emirates signed up for options to convert its latest 777-9<\/a> order into either the 777-10 or the 777-8, providing formal backing for Boeing’s feasibility study on the stretched model. Boeing agreed to launch that feasibility study as part of the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same order lifted Emirates to 540 GE9X engines in total, the largest commitment to the engine programme to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emirates
Emirates Airbus A350-900 | Photo: Cl\u00e9ment Alloing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Airbus Weighs a Competing Stretch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The interest Clark identified across the Atlantic has become more concrete in recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airbus commercial aircraft chief Lars Wagner told an investor briefing on 21 July that the airframer is investigating a stretch version of the A350 larger than the -1000, alongside a push to raise monthly output beyond the current target of 12 aircraft in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury described a stretch in February as a natural evolution of the product, while cautioning that the company was not at the point of decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolls-Royce chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic told journalists at Farnborough that he expects Airbus to finalise design plans within a year, and said the engine maker would need to build a new powerplant if Airbus selects a design requiring a bigger turbine, a development that would take six or seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emirates
Photo: Cl\u00e9ment Alloing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Emirates Expects Its First 777-9<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Clark is hoping Emirates will receive its first 777-9 in the second quarter of 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before that, he expects Boeing to present a completed aircraft to the carrier in November this year, with its power on and all equipment fitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“And then we just wait for the certification process to complete, and its [extended twin-engined operations capability] programmed,” he says. “So far, so good.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His timeline sits slightly behind the manufacturer’s own guidance. Boeing<\/a> chief executive Kelly Ortberg told investors on 27 May that the company expects to complete most of the flight-test programme by the end of 2026, with Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) testing extending into 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terry Beezhold, vice-president and general manager of the 777-9 programme, said in July that the test fleet has logged more than 4,800 flight hours across roughly 1,700 flights, with half of planned certification testing complete and the ETOPS-focused approvals still outstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emirates
Photo: Emirates<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why Emirates Will Not Take Early Airframes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Emirates has already informed Boeing it will not take any of the early-build 777X models initially destined for the airline, owing to the extensive rework needed to bring them up to the current delivery standard for the jet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Flight Global<\/a>, Boeing is undertaking a process it calls change incorporation, assessing some 30 777Xs to determine how much work is required to update them to delivery standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation is a result of the 777X’s long incubation period, which meant early airframes, built to acquire experience and intended for airline service, have essentially become outdated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Those airframes that were built for us\u2026I was on board the first one, kitted out completely, except for our game-changer first-class suites,” says Clark, adding that this was in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“And when I got on board, the [folding wing-tips] were flapping for me\u2026and [they were] trying to show me that it was all, not ‘la la land’, but they did actually work, and one thing and another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I thought, this is great, I’m going to get this aircraft out of the door by maybe April [2020], and then, of course, it all went wrong.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic disrupted the air transport system, particularly the long-haul market, for the next two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If we were to take those [early] aircraft in the first quarter of next year, they’ll be nearly eight years old, they’re half-life and no use to anybody,” Clark states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He adds that the airline has not kept that view to itself. “At the same time, we’ve been intimating to Boeing that’s not the way they should go.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emirates accounts for 10 or 11 of the early 777-9s. “We’ve already told them that,” Clark says of the refusal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"EK77-300ER
Photo: Cl\u00e9ment Alloing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Change Incorporation Draws Comparisons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Emirates is not alone in its position. Leeham News reported in May that at least one other customer had decided against accepting inventory 777-9s, and that other 777X customers had expressed a dislike for taking the stored aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The publication has compared the situation to the 787 “Terrible Teens”, pointing to the volume of rework required across the 30-plus 777-9s built since 2019, aircraft that were assembled and then stored while the FAA conducted a deep-dive review following the two 737 MAX crashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ortberg told the first-quarter 2026 earnings call that completing the change incorporation would take years, describing the work as incorporating all the changes that have occurred since the aircraft were built, including those resulting from the certification programme and from process improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing has reportedly earmarked former 747 final assembly space at Everett as one site for the rework, mirroring the shadow factories it established during earlier 787 and 737 MAX fixes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The precedent is not encouraging on timing. Boeing eventually sold all of the 787 Terrible Teens, but the process took years and required a steep discount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"EK
By Alex Steffler from Houston, TX, US – EmiratesUploaded by Altair78, CC BY 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=9957552<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Commercial Question Around Parked Jets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Clark is direct about how he would have handled the inventory himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Quite honestly, if it had been me looking at these kinds of things, looking at the prognosis\u2026at some point, I would have provisioned for the write-off. And I would have charged that to my [profit-and-loss account].”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says there is “no point” in leaving the inventory on the balance sheet when delivery is “unlikely”, adding that he probably would have concluded the aircraft were not going anywhere. He acknowledges Boeing might still be able to “give them away” at a heavily reduced price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They have been standing on their wheels, with no engines of course, for some time. We last saw them a few years ago, parked outside Renton, all greened-up, looking very sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But the fact is, that’s commercial reality now. If they can, if they can get them out, that’s good to somebody who might buy them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selling the aircraft would still mean carrying out the change incorporation work. “Whether or not that’s worth doing, whether or not you just cut them up, is up to them,” Clark says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"EK
Photo: Photo: Sandeep\/ atc spotter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Where Boeing’s Certification Work Stands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Clark says Boeing is currently focused on 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 certification. “As soon as they’ve gone, their concentration is to get the [777-9] out the door,” he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulators have signalled the same sequence. Deputy FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau told Reuters on the opening day of Farnborough that certification of both narrowbody variants is closer than ever before, and noted the 777X will be certified only after the two MAX models clear, placing it in late 2026 or early 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing reported in July that 737-10 certification flight testing is 98 percent complete, covering about 2,060 flight hours and 972 test flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clark adds that both the manufacturer and the airline expect the aircraft to arrive in a settled state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“[Boeing] honestly thinks, and we believe, that with all the work that’s been done, the mods have been done, the latest mods on the engine, when it gets into the fleet, it’ll be almost a mature aeroplane. After all, it should be that, given that it’s probably the most tested aircraft in history. So we’ll see.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing has noted that the 777-9 full-scale fatigue test has already surpassed one full lifetime, which the company presents as evidence of the aircraft’s maturity ahead of entry into service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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United Airlines Can Take New Boeing 777X Jets Left by Emirates<\/a><\/blockquote>