Emirates fleet

Current fleet

As of February 2017, the Emirates mainline fleet consists of the following widebody aircraft:

Executive aircraft

As of April 2016, the Emirates Executive fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Historical fleet

Emirates was conceived in March 1985 with backing from Dubai's royal family, whose Dubai Air Wing provided two of the airline's first aircraft, used Boeing 727-200/Advs. It also leased a new Boeing 737-300, as well as a leased Airbus A300B4-200, which was returned in 1987. Emirates then launched daily nonstop service to London Gatwick on 6 July 1987 with two new Airbus A310s. By 1994 the airline had a fleet of 18 Airbus aircraft (all of which have been retired). Seven new Boeing 777s worth over US$1 billion were ordered in 1992, which began to arrive in the spring of 1996.

Emirates' Airbus A300B4-200 fleet was retired from service by the end of 1987. Emirates' Airbus A300-600Rs were retired in 2001 and replaced by Airbus A330-200s. The Boeing 727-200/Advs remained in service with the airline for nine years, and were sold in 1995. The Boeing 737-300 remained in service for two years from 1985 to 1987. The planned phaseout of Emirates' older large Airbus widebodies started in February 2011, starting with the retirement of two Airbus A330-200s from its fleet. The last Airbus A340-500 was withdrawn from service on 31 March 2016 after operating a final flight from Kabul to Dubai.

On 29 and 30 October 2016, Emirates retired three aircraft types from its operating fleet, namely the Airbus A330-200, A340-300 and Boeing 777-200ER. This simplification of aircraft reduced the airline's current utilization down to just two aircraft families for passenger service: the Airbus A380-800 and three models from the Boeing 777 family.

Emirates has operated the following aircraft since 1985:

Order history

The airline made history at the Paris Air Show in June 2003 when it announced the biggest order ever in civil aviation at that time. The order comprised 71 aircraft list-priced at a combined US$19 billion and included firm purchase orders for 21 more Airbus A380-800s and leasing orders for two A380-800s. Emirates also announced operating lease orders for 26 Boeing 777-300ERs – 14 from GECAS and 12 from the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) – powered by General Electric GE90-115B engines. On 16 November 2003, Emirates ordered 41 Airbus aircraft, comprising two A340-500s, 18 A340-600s and 21 A380-800s. In addition, Emirates planned to lease two A340-600s and two A380-800s from ILFC.

On 20 November 2005, Emirates announced firm orders for 42 Boeing 777 aircraft, to be powered by GE90 jet engines, in a deal worth Dhs 35.7 billion (US$9.7 billion) at list prices. This was the largest-ever order for the Boeing 777 family of aircraft and consisted of 24 Boeing 777-300ERs, 10 Boeing 777-200LR Worldliners and eight Boeing 777 Freighters, with the first aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2007. In addition, Emirates will have purchase rights for 20 more 777 aircraft.

During the Farnborough Air Show in July 2006, Emirates signed a Heads of Agreement for 10 of Boeing 747-8F aircraft, to be powered by General Electric's GEnx jet engines, in a deal worth US$3.3 billion. On 31 October 2006, Emirates cancelled an order for 20 Airbus A340-600 aircraft, ending a delay in the delivery of the aircraft pending enhancements.

On 7 May 2007 Emirates reaffirmed its order for 43 A380-800s and has committed to another four which brought its order to 47. On 18 June 2007, during the Paris Air Show, Emirates ordered eight additional A380-800s, bringing its total ordered to 55.

Emirates, which was deciding between the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350, also stated it would decide on an order worth as much as US$20 billion for mid-sized planes by October 2007, and that the design of the Airbus A350 was closing in on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. On 11 November 2007, during the Dubai Airshow, Emirates ordered 120 Airbus A350s, with the first delivery set for 2014. A firm $16.1bn order for 70 planes has been made with an option for 50 more aircraft, at an additional cost of $11.5bn, in due course; the airline will mainly use the A350s on its European, African and Asian routes. The agreement with Airbus comprises firm orders for 50 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s, plus 50 options of unknown variant(can be A350-900/A350-1000 or both). On the same day Emirates has also upped its order for the Airbus A380-800 to 58 units, up from 49. Also, Emirates ordered 12 Boeing 777-300ERs. In total the deal was worth an estimated $34.9bn at list prices.

On 28 July 2008 Emirates signed a letter of intent for 60 airbus aircraft: 30 Airbus A350s plus 30 A330-300s. The agreement was signed between Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates and Group and Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEO on the occasion of their first A380-800 delivery in Hamburg, Germany. At the 10th Dubai Airshow in 2007, Emirates signed a firm order for 70 A350s with an option for 50 more. The agreement includes the firming up of 30 of the Airbus A350 options and will eventually increase Emirates’ total order for the A350s to 100. However, in June 2010 the airline confirmed they have aborted a planned deal for 30 A330-300s and 30 more A350-1000s announced in July 2008 and are currently in talks with Boeing for smaller wide-body aircraft.

The airline has converted an order for A380F into the passenger version which are due for delivery in 2009. In its place the airline has ordered ten Boeing 747-8 freighters for its SkyCargo subsidiary. Emirates has chosen the Boeing 747-8 "derivative" freighter over the all-new Airbus A380F for its nose-loading capability, something the rival Airbus freighter is lacking.

On 8 June 2010, at the Berlin Air show, Emirates ordered an additional 32 A380s worth $11.5 billion. The deal was the biggest single order for the world’s largest passenger aircraft. This latest order, added to the 58 A380s previously ordered, brings the total to 90. Emirates expects all 90 superjumbos to be delivered by 2017. None of the additional 32 jets are intended to replace existing A380s; although Emirates received its first A380 in 2008 it does not expect to retire these early airframes before 2020. Later in June 2010, Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, hinted at further orders for A380s.

On 19 July 2010, at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK, Emirates ordered 30 Boeing 777-300ER worth $9.1 billion. Emirates also announced it had signed a contract for Engine Alliance GP7200 engines to power the 32 Airbus A380 aircraft it ordered in June at the Berlin Air Show. The deal with Engine Alliance, a joint venture between GE and Pratt & Whitney, was worth $4.8bn, while last month’s Airbus A380 order was worth $11.5bn. The total spending for new aircraft that year reached $25bn.

On 17 November 2013, Emirates announced at a press conference at the Dubai Airshow that they were placing an order for an additional 50 Airbus A380-800s, bringing the overall order total to 140. The order signing was witnessed by Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group, and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO.

On 11 June 2014 Emirates and Airbus announced that Emirates had opted to cancel its orders (70 in total) for the A350XWB

Airbus A380

On 28 July 2008, Emirates received its first Airbus A380-800, and in August 2008 it became the second airline to fly the Airbus A380-800, after Singapore Airlines. The airline currently uses its A380-800s daily to several destinations both short haul and long haul, with more being added each month. Emirates is also known for flying the shortest A380 route in the world, from its hub Dubai to Doha (approx. 1 hour and 10 minutes flight time).

Emirates has also planned to use the A380 to Jakarta, however the airport as of 2016 is still not ready for the A380. Emirates has refused to yield to the fact that Airbus is delaying the delivery of the A380 and made a statement that they are receiving the A380s at a more rapid rate than the other operators. On 28 May 2010, the airline received their 9th A380. As of 1 September 2016, Emirates is the largest operator of the A380, with 94 of this type in its fleet. Furthermore, the airline has 48 more A380s on order, which, when delivered, would increase the number of A380s in service to 132. They could buy an additional 100 to 200 Airbus A380s if the four-engined superjumbo were revamped with more fuel-efficient engines by 2020. The airline plans to retire their A380s after 12 years of service.

Emirates’ A380s were originally all powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines. In a deal worth US$9.2 billion, Rolls Royce announced in April 2015 that they would supply engines for 50 new Airbus A380s (termed A380CEO) with first delivery due in mid 2016. On 29 December 2016 the first Emirates Rolls Royce powered A380 landed at Dubai airport.

Boeing 777 & 777X

Emirates has the largest fleet of 777s, and plans to start phasing out older "classic" 777s with new ones. Emirates has currently (April 2016) 157 Boeing 777 aircraft in use. On 1 October 2014, Emirates retired its first Boeing 777, A6-EMD after 18 years of service. Emirates took delivery of its 100th Boeing 777-300ER on 28 October 2014. The company is currently waiting for more 777-300ER's to join their fleet, that would bring it up to a total of 152 777s. In 2020 Boeing will start with delivering the 777-8X and the 777-9X to the Emirates fleet, in which 150 more aircraft should make their appearance.