The Emirates fleet is composed of two wide-bodied aircraft families, the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777. The airline also has the Airbus A350-900, Boeing 777X and Boeing 787-9 aircraft on order.
Current fleet
Emirates Executive aircraft
As of October 2023, 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 an Airbus A300B4-200, both from Pakistan International Airlines, 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. Seven new Boeing 777s worth over US$1 billion were ordered in 1992, which began to arrive in summer 1996.
Emirates' Airbus A300B4-200 fleet was retired from service by the end of 1987. Emirates' Airbus A300-600Rs were retired in 2002 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 last pax Airbus A310-300 was retired after operating its final flight on 29 July 2007 from Alexandria, Egypt to Dubai, UAE and was sold to Qatar Amiri Flight in 2008. Emirates SkyCargo Airbus A310s were retired in 2009. 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 The last Airbus A340-500 was withdrawn from service on 31 March 2016 after operating a final flight from Kabul to Dubai.
The first Boeing 777-300ER was withdrawn from use on 27 March 2017 after performing its final flight for Emirates as Flight 724 from Addis Ababa.
In December 2017, Emirates retired the last of the Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 747-400 Freighters.
Emirates started retiring their non-ER 777-300s in 2016, with the last one being retired on 26 September 2019
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 fleet to just two aircraft families for passenger service until the addition of the Airbus A350-900 in 2023: the Airbus A380-800 and three models from the Boeing 777 family (200LR, 300ER, and 777F).
Emirates has operated the following aircraft since 1985:
Fleet development
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 Airbus A380-800s and leasing orders for two A380-800s. Emirates also announced operating lease orders for 26 Boeing 777-300ERs. On 16 November 2003, Emirates ordered 41 Airbus aircraft, comprising two A340-500s, 18 A340-600s and 21 A380-800s.
On 20 November 2005, Emirates announced firm orders for 42 Boeing 777 aircraft, 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 777-200LRs, and eight Boeing 777F cargo aircraft, with the first aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2007. In addition, Emirates took purchase rights for 20 more 777 aircraft.
During the Farnborough Air Show in July 2006, Emirates signed a Heads of Agreement for ten Boeing 747-8F aircraft, in a deal worth US$3.3 billion.On 31 October 2006, Emirates cancelled an order for 20 Airbus A340 aircraft, ending a delay in the delivery of the aircraft pending enhancements.
On 7 May 2007, Emirates reaffirmed its order for 42 A380-800s and committed to another four which brought its order to 46. On 18 June 2007, during the Paris Air Show, Emirates ordered eight additional A380-800s, bringing its total ordered to 54.