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Dubai Airshow 2023: Emirates orders 15 additional A350-900s

Dubai airline also signs MoU with Boeing on maintenance operations

Emirates on Thursday announced an order for 15 additional Airbus A350-900s at the Dubai Airshow 2023, worth $6 billion.

This takes Emirates’ total A350 order book to a total of 65 units.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group said: “The A350-900s will add to our fleet mix and we are pleased to announce additional orders for this aircraft type. We plan to deploy our A350s to serve a range of new markets including long-haul missions of up to 15 hours flying time from Dubai. We will work closely with Airbus and Rolls-Royce to ensure our aircraft deliver the best possible operating efficiency and flying experience for our customers.”

“Emirates’ orders this week are all carefully planned to support our future growth and the Dubai economic vision set out by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Emirates experience is often the first visitor experience of Dubai – and we want it to be the best.”

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International said: “With this agreement we mark another solid step forward in the long standing relationship agreement between Emirates and Airbus. A relationship founded on a pursuit of innovation, efficiency and operational excellence. Just as the A380 established itself at the heart of Emirates operations, we are equally proud of what the A350 will do in the years to come.”

The first A350 is scheduled to join Emirates’ fleet in August 2024, and with today’s additional orders, Emirates will receive A350 deliveries until early 2028.

Including its order for 95 additional Boeing aircraft on Monday, Emirates will have a total order book of 310 wide-body aircraft. There are currently 260 aircraft in its fleet.

Emirates also signed signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Boeing to leverage advanced digital technologies and accelerate improvements in maintenance operations.

Efforts will focus on key areas including drone assisted aircraft inspections, sharpening the precision and effectiveness of maintenance tasks through use of virtual and augmented reality, in addition to next generation prognostic and predictive maintenance.

Ahmed Safa, divisional senior vice-president, Emirates Engineering, said: "Our partnership with Boeing will enable us to maximize the benefits of advanced technologies and digital excellence to improve operational reliability, minimise disruptions and ensure our fleet operates at the highest standards, ultimately providing our customers a better travel experience. Whether its drones conducting inspections with meticulous agility or AR visualisations that help engineers see behind panels or inside ducts to locate potentially defective components not visible to the naked eye, without having to dismantle them, we’re taking significant steps to optimize aircraft maintenance to its full potential on our fleet of Boeing 777s."

"Supporting our customers on their digital transformation journey is about more than just enhancing maintenance operations," Brad Surak, vice-president of digital aviation solutions, Boeing Global Services said. "It's about applying innovation to ensure their needs for optimum operations are met today and long term."

The integration of drone technology for maintenance tasks represents a leap forward for the airline, helping speed up exterior inspections on wide-body aircraft utilising ultra-high resolution cameras with the capability to reach every angle of the aircraft to detect surface imperfections. The imagery and data collected becomes the basis of highly detailed reports, allowing far greater precision and helping with audits of future inspections.

Mixed reality and the use of augmented reality and virtual reality visual tools means engineers can investigate the innermost workings of any part of an aircraft and other intricacies. These technologies promise to deliver more precise and comprehensive aircraft inspections, reduce the risk of human error, and significantly cut down the time aircraft spend out of service – optimizing fleet availability and performance.

Next generation prognostic and predictive maintenance technology provided by Boeing leverages advanced analytics and prognostic insights, enabling Emirates to make more informed fleet maintenance decisions.

Emirates Engineering is one of the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft maintenance facilities, supporting the world’s largest fleet of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft. The team manage and implement all aspects of maintenance, engineering, quality, planning and logistics. The 400,000 square metre facility features 12 hangars which form the largest free-spanned structures in the Middle East.