Emirates nears deal on Boeing jets with 777X timing unresolved

Emirates has decided on its preferred mix of new Boeing wide-body planes, with the focus likely to be on smaller aircraft rather than jumbo jets following a slump in demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dubai-based carrier has been pushing to swap more of Boeing’s behemoth 777X jets -- of which it has ordered 115 -- for 787 Dreamliners. The composition of the intake has been finalized, COO Adel Al Redha said Thursday, declining to provide details. Negotiations are ongoing about the timing of the plane deliveries, Al Redha said, with Emirates preferring to take the smaller Dreamliner sooner rather than later as it “offers better seat capacity” at a time when demand for international travel is flagging. Boeing wants to hand over the larger 777X first, the COO said, in line with an agreement made before the coronavirus tore up the plans of airlines around the world. “I think Boeing would prefer to deliver the 777s before 787 because that is a new program for them,” Al Redha said. Emirates is particularly affected by a downturn in demand for air travel as the largest long-haul carrier in the world, typically operating more than 500 flights a day and using its Dubai hub to connect travelers from Europe and the US to Africa and Asia. <br/>