Emirates : EK : UAE

Emirates is due to receive its first higher-density configured Airbus A380 in November. The aircraft will fly on shorter routes from Dubai to destinations such as London. Meanwhile, earlier plans for a version equipped with more than 600 seats may be revived.
Emirates, which has five A380s in service and will introduce 10 more through to the summer of next year, is still suffering "niggling delays from Toulouse", says the airline's president Tim Clark.
"Our next A380, which arrives in November, will be MSN007, one of the flight-test aircraft," he says. "This will be the first equipped with 517 seats."
The airline's first five A380s have a three-class, 489-seat layout, but the next batch will be 517-seaters. The latter version does not include the crew rest compartment on the main deck as it will be flown on sectors of less than 12h, and the freed space provides room for another 28 economy seats.
Meanwhile, Clark says that the plan for a third, higher- density A380 configuration with "roughly 620 seats" in a two-class layout for use on shorter sectors to the Indian subcontinent, has been put on ice. This configuration "was struck out, but now I'm revisiting it", he says.
Emirates is taking two of the five flight-test A380s: MSN007 - which was originally a Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered version and has been re-engined to Emirates specification with Engine Alliance GP7200s - and MSN009, which was the first GP7200-powered version to fly.

Emirates Airline has ruled out ordering the Boeing 747-8I passenger variant as it focuses on building its fleet of Airbus A380s. However, it is "very keen" to hear Boeing's plans to develop the 777.
"With the A380 as it is today, and as popular as it is today, why would you go back to the 747?" says Emirates Airline president Tim Clark.
The Dubai carrier had been pushing Boeing to develop a version of the 747-8I with the range capability to operate year-round services between its base and Los Angeles with an economic payload of around 370 passengers.
In parallel with Airbus's A380 weight reduction effort, Emirates has been working on its own savings says Clark. "On our own we've already taken out about 2.2t of operator items." This was partly due to a reduction in the potable water carried for the two on-board showers.
Through Airbus's effort, Clark believes that "by 2012 [deliveries] the manufacturer's empty weight of the A380 will be a minimum of 2t lighter on top of our 2.2t". However, he thinks the A380 will "always be challenged" to serve Los Angeles from Dubai.
The airline operates a 266-seat 777-200LR on the Dubai-Los Angeles service, and while Clark rules out the larger -300ER being capable of serving the route with an economic payload, he is awaiting news about the Boeing's plans to develop or replace the 777.
"Boeing knows we're very keen," says Clark, who expects to hold a meeting with the airframer "soon" to discuss ideas that could lead to a 777-300ER-sized aircraft capable of operating the Los Angeles route. "Even if they give us 8-10% [performance gains] by modifying the current 777, then we've got a chance getting that to Los Angeles," he says

DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Emirates Airline, the Middle East's largest carrier, is pressing U.S. planemaker Boeing Co. (BA) to improve its 777 aircraft or develop a new long-range jet that can be used on its Dubai to Los Angeles route, the airline's president said Sunday.
"We've been in dialogue with Boeing for almost four years about this, but recently we felt that the impetus from Boeing to improve the 777 extended range had slowed," Tim Clark told Zawya Dow Jones in a telephone interview. "We continue to remind them that we want an improvement to the extended range per se, or a new airplane."
A spokesperson for Boeing in the Middle East couldn't immediately be reached for comment Sunday.
Emirates, which will be the biggest user of Boeing's 777 widebody jet, currently operates a Boeing 777-200 LR (long range) nonstop from Dubai to L.A., but says that the aircraft is inefficient.
Clark thinks that Boeing may be working on something "privately", but said that delays to the planemaker's 787 program have hampered efforts.
"The problem has been the financial commitment because of the 787 program," he said. "Once the Dreamliner has made its first flight, I think we'll see a huge release of funds and resources, and the plane maker will be able to focus on other programs."
In June, Clark told Zawya Dow Jones that he wasn't too impressed with Boeing's decision to put a larger wing on its wide-bodied jet.
Clark said that he wasn't interested in buying Boeing's 747-8, a larger plane than earlier versions.
The airline isn't likely to make any aircraft orders at the Dubai airshow next month, Clark said, but added that there were some "very good deals" for aircraft at the moment.
"If the opportunities are right, then we'll take them," he said.
Clark said Emirates' traffic was "holding up" and that load factors were good. "It's a difficult time, but we're keeping our head above water," he said.

Nils a écrit:Oui, je crois que sur Bloomberg, Valerie TAN d'EK avait déclaré que la cie avait écarté le 748 I

Et la question posée à B pat T.Clarck était bien :
" Allez-vous lancer un remplaçant du T7; et quand ? "

La fourchette d'amélioration de performance était plutôt 8 à 10%, sur base 777-300ER et hors surcoûts liés aux entretiens non programmés de GE90

Ils s'attendent à ce qu'un Super-bi, 'tout composite', offrant des "plus points" par rapport à l'A350-XWB-1000, vienne remplacer les B777-300ER & B747-8I, quasi simulatanément comme offre sans le portefeuille de produits (gros porteurs) actifs de Boeing !