The Boeing 777X is slated to be the future of air travel. The new aircraft is a more fuel-efficient variant of the traditional 777 while also carrying more passengers thus making it the ideal replacement for not only older 777’s but also the Boeing 747. So today we will be looking at who has ordered Boeing’s latest flagship.

EMIRATES – DUBAI(UAE)

The Dubai based carrier; emirates is no stranger to the Boeing 777 family, with the airline having operated every 777 variant and having the largest fleet of the Boeing 777s in the world comprising of 131 Boeing 777-300ER’s & 10 Boeing 777-200LR’s (2020). With this colossal fleet of 777s comes the need to eventually replace the aircraft, paving the way for the new 777X to join the Emirates fleet. From 2022 Emirates are expected to take delivery of their first of 115 777-9X however, the status of their order for the smaller 777-8X is unconfirmed. With Emirates having the largest fleet of A380s (114) and 777s (141), the fuel-efficient 777X will be the primary aircraft to take the airline forward and will continue to ensure that we receive the 5-star service, that we have become accustomed to, from the Dubai based carrier.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES – SINGAPORE

Singapore Airlines is one of the many Asian carriers that have opted for the 777X, with the airline ordering 20 of the aircraft. The airline was previously an operator of the Boeing 747 and now operates 19 Airbus A380’s. However with air travel in decline and recovery not expected until 2024 at the earliest, the Airbus A380 is inefficient and harder to fill therefore making the 777X perfect to replace the aircraft. Along with this, the airline does operate 42 Boeing 777 family aircraft, therefore the new 777-9 will eventually replace those 42 aircraft. Singapore airlines will take delivery of the first of 20 aircraft from 2022.

BRITISH AIRWAYS – LONDON (UK)

As we know last week (8/10/20) the UK flag carrier; British Airways retired its last Boeing 747-400 aircraft. While the retirement was met with much dismay it does pave the way for more fuel-efficient aircraft such as the 777X; the aircraft chose to replace the 747. British Airways will take delivery of the first of 18 from 2022.

LUFTHANSA – FRANKFURT (GERMANY)

The German airline Lufthansa is an operator of many quad-jets; such as the Airbus A340-300, Airbus A340-600, Airbus A380, Boeing 747-400 & Boeing 747-8. While some of the quad-jets have not even reached 10 years old yet, notably the 747-8 fleet, due to their high capacity and high fuel consumption these aircraft are likely t be phased out as the first of 20 new 777-9 is welcomed into the Lufthansa fleet from 2022.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS – ABU DHABI (UAE)

While Etihad Airways has no doubt faced economic hardship throughout the past years, the Abu Dhabi based airline is looking to take on new aircraft in the future once such aircraft is the Boeing 777-9X which should be delivered to the airline from the mid-2020s. However due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lack of demand for air travel, this may slip further back as Etihad continues to face economic hardship. While the airline is going to take delivery of this aircraft; it was originally planned for the airline to take 25 777X aircraft however it will now only take 6.

CATHAY PACIFIC – HONG KONG

The Hong Kong-based carrier; Cathay Pacific has quite a simplistic passenger fleet with the fleet, only comprising of the Airbus A330, Airbus A350-900, A350-1000 and the Boeing 777-300 & 300ER. Cathay Pacific is expected to take 21 Boeing 777–9s with delivery slated to start from 2021 onwards. However with Lufthansa expected to take the first-ever aircraft in 2022 this date is slightly mysterious and we do expect the airline to take delivery of the aircraft from 2023 onwards, with the aircraft obviously replacing the older 777-300s and older 777-300ER’s along with the Airbus A330.

ALL NIPON AIRWAYS (ANA) – TOKYO (JAPAN)

All Nippon Airways is an airline based in Japan with orders for 20 777X aircraft. The airline operates a fleet of 54 Boeing 777 family aircraft along with 23 Boeing 767’s. The new 777X is expected to replace some 767 aircraft and the majority of the current 777 fleets. The Tokyo-based airline is expected to take delivery of the aircraft in 2021; however, along with a Cathay Pacific delivery date, this date does remain mysterious and we do expect the airline to take delivery of the aircraft from 2023 onwards.

QATAR AIRWAYS – DOHA (QATAR)

Qatar Airways is an airline with quite extensive fleet plans for the future, the airline operates and a variety of aircraft including the Airbus A380, Boeing 777-200LR and 777-300ER. The new 777X series is expected to replace all going current 777 aircraft and all A380s. The airline is expected to take delivery of both the 777–8 and the 777–9 with delivery expected from 2022 onwards as by 2024 all current 777s phased out along with the complete retirement of the A380 from 2024.

UNIDENTIFIED CUSTOMER

While the 777X hasn’t been the best seller that Boeing hoped for it has acquired over three hundred orders to date. However over the past few months, even though there has been a pandemic ongoing there has been a new customer that has been announced. While this order was made in 2015 it has only been made public in the past few months; however, we do not know the identity of the customer and we are still waiting for that from Boeing. With many airlines across the world having an ageing fleet there could be an array of airlines that would be placing this order. While the order is only for 10 aircraft there are still many airlines across the world which could be taking up the aircraft including Philippine airlines, Kuwait airways or one of the three big American carriers such as United, American or Delta.

Who do you think is the unidentified customer? Which airline receiving the aircraft are you most looking forward to? Where will you be flying first on the new 777X? let us know in the comments below.