The winner for the most deliveries of Airbus A350 “extra widebody” is already the world’s leading airline in the widebody segment. Emirates took delivery of 13 new A350 aircraft this year, accounting for a quarter of the total delivered by Airbus in 2025. Notably, all the jets delivered to Dubai’s flagship carrier were A350-900 variants, and none of the larger -1000 models.

Data published by Airbus shows that Emirates outstripped the next biggest buyer by almost double, with Turkish Airlines receiving six -900 aircraft and Air France taking delivery of five this year. As the world’s largest operator of Airbus A380 “Superjumbos” and Boeing 777 widebodies, the new Emirates A350s are part of a fleet modernization effort that also diversifies the airline’s platforms.

The Newest Wings At Emirates

Emirates currently has orders for 73 A350-900 variants on the books with Airbus. The airline has received 13 examples from this batch, leaving 60 yet to be fulfilled. It doesn’t put the carrier on top in total orders, yet, as Turkish Airlines has 110, but it is still one of the largest A350 customers around the world. But that is enough to eclipse the current leading operator, Singapore Airlines, once all of Emirates’ -900s are delivered.

The timeline to fulfill the Emirates backlog stretches until 2031. The A350 is only the third aircraft type to join the Emirates fleet, and the smallest. The long range and high fuel efficiency of the aircraft, with 25% lower fuel burn than legacy platforms, enable the carrier to serve more long, thin routes than it can with its other exceptionally large widebody jets.

One of the driving factors behind the decision to begin adding the A350 to the Emirates Fleet is the long-delayed Boeing 777X. The successor to the 777, “Triple Seven,” will be the largest twinjet ever made and the most fuel-efficient airliner in the sky when it is finally delivered. However, the program is over half a decade behind, and deliveries are unlikely to be seen until 2027. So until that stunning next-generation widebody arrives, the A350 gives flyers a modern experience and opens up new opportunities for the airline.

The Extrawidebody Difference

The A350 was developed by Airbus as a clean-sheet design to compete with the 787 Dreamliner from Boeing. The 787 was the first completely new airframe design from the American planemaker, prompting Airbus to move to its own competing platform, as the A330neo could not compete with the innovative Dreamliner features. Since its debut in 2014, ultra-long-haul routes have also increased in the post-COVID-19 commercial aviation sector. That has led to an increasing number of orders for the A350, which was designed to make long-haul travel enjoyable.

The A350’s cabin architecture not only creates a spacious environment, thanks to high ceilings, but also makes the overhead bins the largest in the industry. Seat width and legroom in every cabin class are among the best in the industry. The straight walls of the A350 cabin also offer some of the best shoulder-level space.

The A350 features the quietest twin-aisle cabin in the airline business. The passenger cabin is five decibels quieter than rival aircraft across its length, with the front parts being nine decibels quieter on average. The cabin also has programmable, soft LED mood lighting that helps alleviate jet lag symptoms and improve the overall environment.

The cabin altitude of the A350 is 5,500 feet, compared to the industry norm of 8,000 feet and the 787’s 6,000 feet. Lower altitude by lowering tiredness, boosting hydration, and moderating the effects of jet lag. The A350 has up to eight separate temperature control zones for passengers. The technology can keep cabin humidity levels at 20-25%, compared to 10-15% in previous airliners.

Emirates’ Incoming Dreamliners

Emirates is slated to receive 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The order includes both the small 787-8 and the larger 787-10, with 15 examples of each expected. The story of the airline’s relationship with the latest clean-sheet Boeing has been a bit of a roller coaster since its first orders were announced in 2017. Originally, the airline only wanted the stretched-10 variant and ordered 40 examples, but that changed.

Despite the 787’s having the most stable and reliable production run among newer Boeing models, the ongoing production and quality issues at the American plane maker did influence the airline’s plans. The series of disasters involving the 737 MAX and the constantly delayed 777X program has hurt Boeing’s reputation, weakening confidence among customers like Emirates, which have been waiting years for aircraft deliveries.

The goal for the 787 in the Emirates fleet is to fill the same mission the A350 currently serves. Leveraging the similar fuel efficiency that the Dreamliner achieves compared to the extra-widebody, it will serve long, thin routes as well as flexible missions like seasonal surges and new destinations. The advanced interior features are also similar to those found in the A350, which directly spurred the Airbus design, making it a very comparable experience for flyers.

Why Doesn’t Emirates Order The A350-1000?

At first glance, it might seem that the -1000 is not a desirable part of Emirates’ fleet due to its overlapping capacity and fleet roll with the legacy 777s the carrier still operates and only recently began upgrading. Perhaps surprisingly, one of the main reasons cited by President Tim Clark is related to engine durability in the hot, sandy environment of the Gulf, where Emirates is based.

Clark has repeatedly stated that the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engine powering the -1000 does not meet the airline’s required « time on wing, » as Bloomberg reported. Which might also beg the question, why does the airline fly the -900 and have so many orders on the books when they are such closely related airframes? The less powerful Trent XWB-84 has actually been praised by Clark, and the jet as a whole, as a « peach of an aircraft » at the Dubai Airshow this year for its proven performance since delivery in late 2024.

Compounding the reliability concerns the airline has with the powerplants of the larger A350 is that the larger -1000 is still diminutive compared to a jumbo jet like the A380 or Boeing 747. With the end of production of these gigantic double-decker airliners in 2021 and 2023, respectively, Emirates wants to replace them with the largest aircraft on the market to continue its fleet strategy of flying only the biggest of the “big wing” jets. That has made the 777X the winner, and the airline has placed orders for 270 examples, with the latest batch of 65 being confirmed at the Dubai Airshow 2025.

The Long-Awaited 777X

The Boeing 777X is one of the most highly anticipated commercial aircraft ever designed. The program incorporates a myriad of innovative new technologies and novel features, most prominently the folding wingtips, which have never been seen on an airliner. Unfortunately, the complexity of the aircraft, which also features the largest and most powerful turbofan engines ever built, has pushed its initial delivery out from 2020 to the current estimate of 2027.

With the final jumbo jets rolling off the line two years ago, Emirates has no path for fleet renewal as its enormous armada of superjumbo A380s continues to age. The carrier has roughly half the total number ever constructed and is the largest operator of the biggest commercial jet ever made. The 777X will be the largest twinjet ever to roll off the line and will be the highest-capacity commercial plane in production, making it the only worthy successor to the A380. Despite the program’s difficulties, the airline remains committed, as evidenced by its increased total order by roughly 25% at the Dubai Airshow 2025.