Emirates has expanded its long-running collaboration with Boeing and GE Aerospace by confirming a major purchase of 65 Boeing 777-9 jets equipped with GE9X engines. Announced on the first day of the 2025 Dubai Airshow, the US$38 billion deal highlights the airline’s ambition to operate one of the newest and most technologically advanced wide-body fleets worldwide.
Backing the 777-10 Feasibility Study
The agreement brings Emirates’ total demand for Boeing wide-body aircraft to 315, covering 270 777X passenger jets, 10 777 freighters, and 35 787 Dreamliners. It also includes 130 additional GE9X engines, raising the airline’s total to 540 and reinforcing its position as the largest GE9X customer globally. This substantial order provides long-term support to the U.S. aerospace sector, sustaining skilled manufacturing jobs across the states involved in building the 777X and GE9X programs.
A major feature of Emirates’ latest deal is the built-in flexibility to shift its new 777-9 orders to either the 777-8 or Boeing’s proposed 777-10 model. This capability lends significant backing to Boeing as it evaluates the viability of the higher-capacity 777-10. It also reflects Emirates’ continued interest in efficient, larger aircraft that can meet rising global travel demand and help overcome growing limits on airport capacity.
Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said:
“Emirates is already the world’s largest Boeing 777 operator and we are expanding our commitment to the programme today with additional orders worth US$38 billion.”
He emphasised that each aircraft is central to the airline’s long-term expansion strategy, aligned closely with Dubai’s own growth ambitions. The airline expects delivery of its first 777-9s from Q2 2027, outfitted with next-generation cabin products.
Sheikh Ahmed reiterated the airline’s support for Boeing’s study of the 777-10: “We are keen for manufacturers to build larger capacity aircraft, which are more efficient to operate…We fully support Boeing’s feasibility study to develop the 777-10.”
Emirates’ 40-Year Legacy with the Boeing 777
Emirates’ ties to the Boeing 777 stretch back across the airline’s entire four decades of operations. It has flown every variant of the 777 family and currently operates the world’s largest 777 fleet. Its 119 777-300ERs, 10 777-200LRs, and 11 777 freighters, each powered by GE90 engines, link Dubai with more than 140 cities, enabling global tourism, cargo movement, and economic exchange across six continents.
Following this latest order, Emirates will receive Boeing aircraft deliveries through 2038, reinforcing a decades-long industrial partnership involving thousands of workers across U.S. manufacturing and assembly sites in states including Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.
Boeing and GE Aerospace leadership welcomed the expanded partnership. Stephanie Pope, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, hailed Emirates’ continued confidence in the 777X family, while Russell Stokes, President & CEO of GE Aerospace Commercial Engines & Services, highlighted the airline’s long-standing trust in GE’s engine technology.
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