Emirates plans to keep flying its flagship Airbus A380s till the middle of the next decade when the last remaining superjumbo will be replaced by the Boeing 777X.
That’s the plan laid out by Emirates President Sir Tim Clark, who says the carrier’s globe-striding fleet will become larger, however “leaner” with the shift to all twin-engine jets, whereas also expanding its network to push into new cities with the aid of the forthcoming Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s.
Talking at CAPA Live summit, Clark mapped out how Emirates’ fleet would evolve over the coming years and adapt to take advantage of the post-COVID travel boom.
“At the end of the day, my view is that once we’re through this demand for air travel will return, consumer confidence will return,” Clark stated, adding that he saw no reason to change what he described as Emirates’ “basic business model.”
“Are we going to see this super hub that we created diminish? No. Can we probably need more aircraft post-pandemic to do the job? Yes, we do.”
“The A380, of which we have 118 at the moment and 5 more on delivery, will continue within the plan till the mid-’30s” Clark revealed.
“The 777X was due to come in June of final yr, now it is unlikely I think to be before the first quarter of ’24.”
By the end of this decade and the beginning of the subsequent, Emirates’ heavy-duty fleet strategy will involve “utilizing the A380s on the trunk routes, barreling through from east to west and north to south… with the 777X gradually slipping in to replace the A380s that eventually retire.”
Emirates has also inked contracts for 50 Airbus A350-900s and 30 Boeing 787-9s, though the airline is considering swapping out between 30 and 50 Boeing 777X orders for more Dreamliners.
Clark stated “we’re just looking at how we can bring these into the fleet, and when” – with each of these mid-size “new twins, fuel-efficient twins” vital in growing the network which by the mid-2030s “will probably be 30% larger in terms of cities served than it’s at present.”
“There are many cities and markets that we haven’t served for superb reasons,” Clark admitted.
“Generally it’s because even with intelligent use of the aircraft it still doesn’t stack up on the economics,” which is the place the mid-sized A350 and Boeing 787 will have a clear advantage over the A380 and Boeing 777.
“How and when these airplanes come in will likely be a question of the place we think demand is going to be, and how the manufacturers are able to deliver on the pace and numbers that we want.”
