Emirates plans to phase out 10 aircraft this year

Dubai - "Our investment in modern wide-bodied aircraft has been the cornerstone of our strategy and success."

Emirates is pursuing an aggressive fleet renewal programme under which it will retire 10 aircraft this year, according to a statement from the airline.
With Emirates taking delivery of 24 new aircraft in 2014-'15 and 26 new aircraft planned to enter service this year, retiring older aircraft helps the airline operate one of the youngest fleets in the skies today.
Emirates operates 234 all wide-body aircraft across six aircraft types. It is the world's largest operator of the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft.
"Our investment in modern wide-bodied aircraft has been the cornerstone of our strategy and success," said Adel Al Redha, executive vice-president and chief operations officer, Emirates.
The airline phased out seven aircraft in 2014. The airline recently phased out A6-EMF, the last remaining Boeing 777-200 from its fleet. The aircraft departed from Dubai International to Arizona via Boston for de-registration on July 14.
"In order to keep our fleet modern and efficient, we phase out some of our older aircraft on a regular basis. So far, in 2014 and 2015, we have phased out three B777-200s and eight A340-500s on schedule. For the year 2015/2016, we're planning a total of 10 phaseouts," said Philip Audsley, manager, Aircraft Assets.
Emirates either returns the aircraft to the lessor or presents the aircraft to the market for sale.
- muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com

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