Emirates: Fuel-Efficient Aircraft Are The Cornerstone Of Our Fleet

Emirates has highlighted that having fuel-efficient aircraft is a core focus of its fleet strategy. The Dubai-based carrier makes this statement ahead of the arrival of the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X.

What about its quadjets?

The operator is famously the largest customer of the A380, with 119 units in its holdings. Approximately 90 of these are currently active. Moreover, despite phasing out of the type beginning in the early 2030s, it may fly into the 2040s.

The A380 has been at the center of attention in recent years due to carriers shifting their direction away from the plane in favor of efficient twinjets. Thus, it may come as a surprise for some that efficiency is at the heart of Emirates’ motives.

Photo: Soos Jozsef/Shutterstock

Altogether, the A380’s more optimal efficiency benefits can only be realized for a few carriers, with Emirates being one of them. With high frequency routes from its central hub in the UAE, Emirates has been able to keep its A380s busy with high load factors. These planes have a total capacity of 61,572 seats between them, and Emirates has had no trouble packing passengers in on high-demand routes in this recovery period.

Balancing comfort and efficiency

The newer A380s only arrived in 2021, meaning that their engines are still fresh off the line. Still, Emirates does recognize the necessity to adapt and keep evolving to the ever-changing requirements of the aviation industry. Thus, new additions are set to join to reduce the responsibilities of the A380s and 777s in the fleet.

Richard Jewsbury, Divisional Vice President for the UK at Emirates, told Simple Flying in an interview last week the following about his carrier’s initiative to keep its fleet modern:

“We’ve always invested in modern fuel-efficient aircraft. Quite often, we’re a launch customer for new aircraft. At the moment, we deploy the A380 and 777. For their size and the range they offer, they are the best in class. That investment in modern aircraft is continuing. Next year, we start taking delivery of the A350. We’ve got 50 of them on firm order. The year after, we’ll hopefully start taking delivery of the new 777X,”

“I think the cornerstone of Emirates always has been and always will be is indeed buying modern fuel-efficient aircraft. It’s not just about the fuel efficiency that, it’s also about the customer product we can put on board and being able to offer the latest, greatest onboard product we can to our customers. So that’s that’s the cornerstone.”

Exciting times

The A350 is already bringing efficiency advantages to airlines across the globe, offering up to 25% less fuel burn and carbon emissions per seat vs. previous generations. Additionally, Boeing touts 12% less fuel consumption and 10% reduced operating costs than the competition with the 777X. The new composite construction and GE9X engine are two factors helping to achieve this feat.

All in all, while the A380 will be around for a little longer, efficiency goals will drive its imminent retirement as modern twinjets continue to become the staple in global airline fleets.

What are your thoughts about Emirates’ aircraft plans? What do you make of the overall prospects? Let us know what you think in the comment section.