The first day of Dubai Airshow 2023 was a busy one. With this being one of the world’s largest airshows, it is no surprise that several airlines announced major orders already. Among others, Emirates, flydubai, and Egyptair placed major orders with Boeing, and airBaltic with Airbus.
Continue reading to learn more about these and other orders made yesterday during the first day of the airshow’s 18th edition.
Emirates Orders More Boeing 777Xs, Modifies Existing 787 Order
To start with, the Dubai-based Emirates placed a massive order for 90 Boeing 777Xs including 55 of the larger 777-9s and 35 of the smaller 777-8s. These are in addition to the 80 777-9s and 35 777-8s that Emirates already ordered, bringing the total order up to 205 aircraft including 70 777-8s and 135 777-9s. The aircraft will be powered by GE9X engines.
The 777Xs are a logical choice for airlines given their size and the fact that their current flagship – the A380 – is no longer in production.
Emirates expects the first 777-9 to join its fleet in 2025 and to gradually receive the currently ordered ones over the span of a decade, until 2035. The first delivery of the shorter 777-8 to Emirates is, for now, scheduled for 2030. With the 777X certification process not going as smoothly as planned, it is quite possible these timelines might change.
In addition to the 777X, Emirates also modified and added to its existing order for the 787 Dreamliner. Instead of the originally ordered 30 787-9s, Emirates will now receive a total of 35 Boeing 787s instead. Interestingly, the breakdown of the 787 variants changed significantly. There will be no 787-9s and, instead, the modified order includes 20 of the shortest 787-8 and 15 of the longest 787-10.
The order’s worth, according to the airline is $52 billion, although Emirates most likely received a significant discount off that. It will be interesting to see how well Emirates will fare once its fleet becomes more diverse.
Flydubai Places Its First Widebody Order
Another Dubai-based airline, flydubai, placed an order for 30 Boeing 787-9s. The airline currently operates a narrowbody-only fleet of about 80 Boeing 737-800s, 737-8s, and 737-9s, and has more than 130 more 737 MAX aircraft on order.
While flydubai currently focuses on short- and mid-haul routes, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal says the 787-9 will “open up longer-range routes and add capacity across its network.”
The first 787 is expected to join flydubai’s fleet in 2026. It will be interesting to see what cabin configuration the aircraft will be in (its 737 MAX aircraft have solid staggered seats in business class) and what routes the aircraft will operate given that the extra range of the 787-9 will allow the airline to reach further in Africa and Asia than it already covers among other places.
Royal Jordanian Orders More Boeing 787s
Over the last year, Royal Jordanian has revealed plans to significantly modernize and expand its fleet.
First, it announced an order for 20 Airbus A320neos that will replace and expand its current fleet of A320ceo series (A319, A320, and A321) aircraft. Then, it made a deal with Embraer for four E190-E2s and four E195-E2s to replace and expand its current E175 and E195 fleet. Now, the airline announced it will expand its current fleet of seven Boeing 787s.
While the 787s currently in the airline’s fleet are of the shorter 787-8 variant, the new order for six additional Dreamliners is for the longer 787-9 variant. It is unclear when the new 787s will be delivered but it will definitely be interesting to see what new routes Royal Jordanian opens up thanks to the expanded fleet.
Egyptair to Expand Its Fleet Using the Boeing 737 MAX
Another airline that announced a major order during the first day of Dubai Airshow 2023 was Egyptair. The airline revealed that it will be leasing 18 Boeing 737-8s from Air Lease Corporation. The lessor will deliver the aircraft to Egyptair between 2025 and 2026.
The 737-8s are not expected to be replacing some of Egypair’s other aircraft. Instead, they are expected to primarily expand the airline’s current fleet of narrowbodies including A220s, A320ceos, A320neos, A321neos, and 737-800s. In addition to these, Egyptair also operates a fleet of widebodies including A330s, 777-300ERs, and 787-9s.
Royal Air Maroc Orders Additional Boeing 787s
Staying in North Africa, Royal Air Maroc ordered a pair of Boeing 787-9s.
These aircraft will join the airline’s existing fleet of 9 Dreamliners including 5 787-8s and 4 787-9s, and they will “enable Royal Air Maroc to expand in the short-term its long-haul network in response to the highly favorable market conditions in 2023,” according to the airline’s Chairman and CEO Abdelhamid Addou.
Additionally, they will bring Royal Air Maroc closer to the goal of quadrupling its fleet before 2037.
In addition to the 787 which is the sole widebody type in the airline’s fleet, Royal Air Maroc also operates a fleet of ATR 72s, E190s, 737-800s, and 737-8s.
SunExpress Orders Additional Boeing 737 Max Aircraft
Turkey’s SunExpress is another airline that ordered Boeing 737 MAX yesterday. The airline expanded its existing order for 42 737-8s by another 45 737 MAX aircraft including 28 more 737-8s and 17 of the considerably larger (and still not in service) 737-10. On top of that, the order includes options for the purchase of an additional 45 737 MAX aircraft.
Thanks to this order, SunExpress will not only be able to grow its fleet but also offer more capacity on select flights because of the 737-10. According to SunExpress CEO Max Kownatzki “Over the next decade, we will more than double our fleet, reaching a 150-aircraft fleet by 2033. Also, the addition of the 737-10, the newest 737 MAX plane with up to 230 seats, to our fleet will allow us to strengthen our capacity further.”
The airline, which is a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, currently operates a fleet of about 60 Boeing 737 aircraft, mostly of the 737-800 variant and some 737-8s.
AirBaltic Orders More Airbus A220s
Last but not least, Riga-based airBaltic placed an order for 30 Airbus A220-300s with an option to purchase 20 more. These aircraft are on top of the airline’s previous order of 50 A220-300s. Of the original order, 44 airframes were already delivered, making airBaltic not only the A220-300s launch customer but also the largest operator of the A220-300 in the world (Delta Air Lines has more A220s when including the A220-200 variant).
While in the past, airBaltic operated a mixed fleet of aircraft, since May 2020 it switched to an all-A220-300 fleet. According to the airline’s President and CEO Martin Gauss, “This day marks a significant milestone in the history of airBaltic– our plans for the first time ever to operate a fleet of 100 aircraft by 2030.”
Summary
The first day of Dubai Airshow 2023 was a busy one in terms of airliner orders, especially for Boeing. The seven orders that were announced include:
- 90 Boeing 777Xs and 5 Boeing 787s for Emirates
- 45 Boeing 737 MAX for SunExpress (plus 45 options)
- 30 Airbus A220-300s for airBaltic (plus 20 options)
- 30 Boeing 787-9s for flydubai
- 18 Boeing 737-8s for Egyptair (leased from Air Lease Corporation)
- 6 Boeing 787-9s for Royal Jordanian
- 2 Boeing 737-9s for Royal Air Maroc
