Flight International 2023 12.pdf

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FlightGlobal.com
December 2023
Titan film shoot rolls
into emergency
p27
World air forces:
our review
Pressure mounts on S-92
parts shortage
p34
Buying
bonanza
Which airlines spent big at Dubai show?
p6
£5.99
Raider rises
B-21 bomber
gets aloft for
US Air Force
p32
Quiz time
Uncle Roger’s
festive teaser
awaits you
p50
Comment
Not shy, or retiring
BillyPix
Better -8
than never
Despite a development timeline that does not foresee
deliveries before 2030, Gulf carrier Emirates has decided to
revisit smallest variant of Boeing’s new 777X family
E
mirates Airline’s opening-day
presentation at the Dubai
air show, a choreography of
dignitaries and dollar signs
paraded before a capacity media
crowd, achieved its aim of capturing
headlines – although arguably the
most interesting aspect of its co-
lossal Boeing widebody order was
given just the briefest of mentions.
Its decision to revisit the 777-
8, the ultra-long-haul passenger
variant, as part of its order for 90
777Xs is undeniably curious.
This is not only because the -8
has been practically relegated to a
freighter – the passenger version’s
backlog was in single figures – but
also because the Emirates deliveries
are not scheduled until 2030. And
this is all set in the context of Sir Tim
Clark’s publicly-voiced pressure on
Airbus to improve performance of
the rival A350-1000.
Emirates had originally been a
777-8 customer, signing for 35 dur-
ing the initial Gulf-carrier launch
order spree for 777Xs a decade ago.
The aircraft was conceived as an
ultra-long-range model capable of
flying over 8,700nm (16,100km),
and able to serve specific niche
routes from the Gulf.
But enthusiasm for the aircraft
has waned. Emirates slashed its
backlog for the -8 during a 2019
fleet rejig, the same year in which
Etihad Airways signalled a re-
think of its own 777-8s. Boeing
unsuccessfully pitched the 777-8
against the A350-1000 for Qantas’s
Project Sunrise.
Clark told a Dubai air show
roundtable that Boeing appeared
to have been “all over the shop”
with the -8, adding that the carrier
thought this was “probably not a
good place to be”.
Once Boeing “quietly got on
with the freighter” the -8 started
re-emerging as a potential can-
didate, he says, and – with the
777-8F’s structural weight re-
duced and the passenger variant
stretched for commonality – the -8
will “hit the sweet spot”.
“I think that caught them short
a little bit, because they really de-
cided the 777-8 was a freighter in
perpetuity… and nobody else was
going to be interested,” he says.
“And probably, as a result of what
we’re doing, others will follow.”
Perhaps. Airframers tend not to
follow the build-it-and-they-will-
come philosophy, and even the
backing of mighty Emirates is no
guarantee of programme longevi-
ty. Boeing insists it is committed to
the 777-8 but, in the background,
it knows where the economic tip-
ping-point lies for its development.
All these uncertainties, and the
fluidity with which Emirates’ has
previously
reshuffled
multi-bil-
lion-dollar orders, might reasonably
provoke a degree of scepticism over
the 777-8’s prospects, especially if
the airline finds it can fill the niche
routes adequately with other types.
Seven years is a long time horizon.
Even Clark might have convinced
himself to retire by then.
◗
See p6
December 2023
Flight International
3
In focus
Clark chides Rolls-Royce over
XWB-97
6
777-9 edges towards formal
certification test phase
8
Dubai deals bolster Boeing
10
Dubai’s defence balancing act
12
A330 MRTT to go Neo
16
Spirit in crisis
18
R-R’s UltraFan at full power
20
ZeroAvia sets sights on flight-
test, certification milestones
22
FedEx to ship pilots to PSA
28
Airbus flies Citation jet that will
test morphing wing
29
Raider flight to trigger LRIP
32
S-92 gearbox shortage bites
34
BAS offers warm welcome to
Ultra drone
38
FlightGlobal.com
December 2023
Titan film shoot rolls
into emergency
p27
World air forces:
our review
Pressure mounts on S-92
parts shortage
p34
Buying
i
bonanza
Which airlines spent big at Dubai show?
p6
£5.99
Emirates
Raider rises
B-21 bomber
gets aloft for
US Air Force
p32
Quiz time
Uncle Roger’s
festive teaser
awaits you
p50
32
Regulars
Comment
3
Straight & Level
60
Women in aviation
66
4
Flight International
December 2023
Contents
In depth
War footing
40
Air forces are keeping up a high
tempo, performing combat
duties in Europe and the Middle
East. Our annual review details
the global military fleet and
nations’ procurement plans
Bowing out
48
We look at some of the most
notable military aircraft
retirements that have been
recorded since we published
our last World Air Forces
directory
Festive Quiz
50
Test your knowledge of aviation
and the events of the past 12
months with our fiendish festive
teaser, and prove your powers
of recognition by tackling our
‘identify the type’ challenge
8
Cloud 9:
777 closes
in on formal tests
50
40
20
December 2023
Flight International
5

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