According to a report by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph on July 21, Emirates Airlines stated that it will refuse to accept 10 Boeing 777X aircraft. They added that these aircraft, which have been repeatedly delayed and are still ‘unusable’, would be better off being turned into canned beans.
According to reports, Emirates Airlines ordered a total of 270 new 777X aircraft from Boeing, with each aircraft valued at $440 million. The first aircraft was manufactured in 2019. However, due to design modifications that caused multiple delays in delivery, Emirates Airlines is still waiting for these aircraft after seven years.
Emirates CEO Tim Clark recently revealed to The Daily Telegraph at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK that the first batch of 10 aircraft requires extensive modifications and upgrades, and simply cannot meet the requirements for use.
"We will not want that batch of airplanes, just like that," Clark said, "As for us, how they intend to deal with these airplanes is their own business."
According to Clark, Boeing has been trying to find buyers for these aircraft. “Honeywell might be interested—they could use them as canned baked beans,” Clark joked.
He explained that Emirates Airlines was unwilling to acquire these 10 aircraft because the design of the 777X has undergone too many significant changes, making it technically and economically impossible to upgrade them to the latest standards.
"Since the early test flights, the modifications made to the fuselage have been truly enormous. Don't forget, we also went through a failed static test." Clark said.
He added, “I was on the first prototype in 2019. At that time, everything except the first-class cabin was already fully equipped. Now it’s 2026, seven years have passed, and we won’t be accepting any of them.”
Due to frequent problems with the Boeing 777X aircraft, its service launch has been delayed from 2020 to at least 2027.
Reports indicate that Emirates Airlines’ refusal to accept this aircraft is undoubtedly another blow for Boeing, which has been troubled by safety issues in recent years.
