Dubai Airshow: Emirates signs $16bn engine deal with GE for Boeing 777x fleet

The contract will include maintenance, repair and overhaul of the GE9X engines that will power the airline’s fleet of 150 Boeing 777X aircraft.

Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum and David Joyce, president and chief executive for GE Aviation. Courtesy Emirates

Dubai’s Emirates airline on Monday said it signed a $16 billion service contract with GE’s aviation unit for engines powering the airline’s 777x fleet.

The contract will include maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of the GE9X engines that will power the airline’s fleet of 150 Boeing 777X aircraft over a period of 12 years, it said in a statement.

Emirates last year placed a record $76 billion order for 150 Boeing 777X twin-engine aircraft, powered by GE’s new GE9X engine - the only engine available for the 777x wide-body aircraft - valued at $16 billion at list price for 300 units.

Emirates said it also signed a second services contract with GE Aviation for its existing 777 fleet for further 12 years, valued at $36 million.

“Aircraft and engine purchases are long-term investments,” said Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates. “It is also a commitment that involves many other related services over the life-span of the aircraft, generating and sustaining jobs throughout the aviation supply chain.”

Emirates said that it is the world’s largest operator of the GE90-powered Boeing 777-300ERs, with more than 100 aircraft in fleet and over 40 units more pending delivery. It also operates the largest fleet of A380s powered by the GP7200 engine produced by the Engine Alliance, a joint company of GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney.

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