Emirates Opens Dubai Airshow With Giant Boeing Order and Starlink Deal
Photo Credit: The first Boeing 777-9s are now expected in the middle of 2027. Emirates
Skift Take
The new Boeing commitments give Emirates flexibility, but also lock it deeper into a program with a long and still uncertain path to entry into service.
Emirates kicked off the Dubai Airshow 2025 with the kind of headline-grabbing order that has long defined its strategy. The hometown carrier struck a deal for 65 additional Boeing 777Xs in a deal valued at $38 billion at list prices.
Monday’s commitment extends Emirates’ position as the world’s largest 777 operator and gives a vote of confidence in a possible 777-10 stretched version, for which Emirates secured conversion options.
The development brings Emirates’ Boeing backlog to 315 widebodies: 270 777Xs, 10 777 freighters, and 35 787 Dreamliner jets – with deliveries now extending to 2038.
Emirates has long pushed manufacturers for higher-capacity planes amid slot constraints at major hubs and the eventual retirement of its double-decker Airbus A380s. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairma
