Airbus or Boeing? Emirates looks at placing new order for long-haul jets
Business
Airbus is already in talks with Indian and Latvian airlines to sell its aircraft
ISTANBUL (Reuters/Web Desk) – Emirates President Tim Clark said on Tuesday the airline may order more Airbus A350, Boeing 777X or 787 jets as the Dubai-based carrier looks ahead to demand through the 2030s.
The news comes as the two giants – Airbus and Boeing – are competing to attract clients from around the world.
“We are looking at both more A350s, more 777-9 and possibly the 787 range,” Tim Clark told reporters on the sidelines of a global airlines meeting.
He declined to discuss the number of aircraft involved. “All I will say is that we are looking at buying a number of extra aircraft,” he said.
The Boeing 777X is a planned family of two large twin-engined aircraft including the 400-seat 777-9 and smaller 777-8. Its entry to service has been delayed by several years amid certification and engine development issues.
Emirates reduced its order for 150 777X to 126 jets as part of a deal that saw the airline order 30 787 Dreamliners in 2019.
Speaking in Istanbul on Tuesday, Clark said he was “perhaps a little more confident” in Boeing’s ability to get the new aircraft out, adding he expected to receive the first aircraft in the last quarter of 2025.
It was reported on Sunday that Latvian airline airBaltic was in talks with Airbus to buy 30 more A220 passenger jets by exercising existing contractual options.
Airbus is also closing in on a potentially record deal to sell 500 narrow-body A320-family jets to India's largest carrier, Indigo.
Read more: Airbus heads towards 500-jet order from IndiGo
The European plane maker has emerged as front-runner for an order eclipsing Air India's historic provisional purchase of 470 jets in February, the sources said on the sidelines of an airline industry meeting in Istanbul.
Airbus and Boeing are also competing in talks to sell 25 wide-body jets to the same airline. However, Indigo, which is already a major Airbus customer with a large number of planes on order, and the France-based plane maker both declined comment. Boeing also declined to comment.
