Emirates 777X business class: worth the wait?

Emirates now expects to pick up the keys to its first Boeing 777-9 jet in mid-2027, with airline chief Sir Tim Clark recently telling an airline conference in Berlin that the long-delayed 777X program was “in good shape.”

Should that timeframe hold true – and the industry has lost count of how many missed 777X delivery goals airlines have had to endure – it will come a staggering 24 years since Emirates placed its first order for the next-generation 777, and seven years since the first plane was due in 2020.

Emirates had to rip out its original 777X seats due to Boeing's delivery delays.

It will also see Emirates’ business class finally catch up with the legion of competitors which have switched to modern suites with high partitions and sliding privacy doors.

“The enclosed suite was our idea right back in the ‘90s when we put it on the A340-500 (in first class) and then others have taken the suite (and) introduced them into business class,” Clark previously recounted to Executive Traveller.

“And the people, the business community, the premium cabin community love them.”

Emirates scrapped its original 777X business class

In fact, Emirates – which has ordered a staggering 270 Boeing 777X jets (mostly the 777-9 model) – was forced to abandon its original Boeing 777X business class plans at a cost of “about €20-30 million” due to ongoing delays.

“In July 2019 I went onto the first 777-9,” Clark told Executive Traveller in January 2025.

Emirates' boss Sir Tim Clark has been waiting for the 777X since 2020.

“It was without the ‘game-changer’ first class suites, which hadn’t been built, but everything else was ready to go.”

As Boeing’s schedule fell further and further behind, Clark decided the best course of action was to scrap those 777X seats and go back to square one.

“There was no way we could leave things as they were because technology – particularly in the customer-facing side of things – moves at quite a pace, whether it be Wi-Fi connectivity, the TVs themselves and the seats themselves.... so we just had to throw ‘em all away.”

It was a hard call, and an expensive one – “just on that we had to make a payment of about €20-30 million to the manufacturer,” Clark said.

“But in the end, it’s just one of those things you have to do.”

This gave competitors the opportunity to soar ahead with stylish business class suites on other jets, ranging from new Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s to Boeing 777 refits.

Now Emirates is primed to catch up and re-stake its claim to leadership in the premium travel space.

Emirates’ new 777X business class

The Gulf colossus has since teased the briefest of glimpses of its new 777X business class, developed as part of a US$1 billion deal with French multinational aerospace firm Safran.

Emirates' new 777X business class.

This confirms doored business suites, styled in the softer colours and warmer palette which Emirates has been trending towards over the past decade (most noticeably in its A380 lounge).

The 1-2-1 seating adopts a dovetail layout where every second window seat is actually situated next to the aisle, while the paired middle seats are alternatively spaced next to one another and apart (industry wags term this a honeymoon and divorce configuration).

Also noteworthy: the overhead luggage bins in the middle of the cabin have been removed, to enhance the sense of space.

Emirates appears to have settled on a highly bespoke version of Safran’s Unity platform – also chosen by a number of airlines including JAL, Riyadh Air and Qantas.

These images of the Qantas A350 business class cabin offer a clearer illustration of Emirates’ staggered 777X business class layout.

Qantas' A350-1000 business class (based on the same Safran Unity platform as Emirates' 777X).

Qantas' A350-1000 business class (based on the same Safran Unity platform as Emirates' 777X).

Also visible in the render of Emirates’ 777X business class suites is a small drinks area and a wireless charging point on the benchtop.

Emirates' new 777X business class.

Emirates’ 777X lounge

And visible just beyond the business class suites is a lounge area – another of Emirates’ signature touches.

Decorated with the familiar Ghaf Tree motif, the lounge appears to be located midway between two business class cabins.

Emirates' onboard 777X lounge.

The cocktail bar of the A380 would be challenging to replicate on the Boeing 777X, at least from the standpoint of economic viability, so Emirates has opted for more of a social space where passengers can relax and mingle.

Emirates' onboard 777X lounge.

The closest parallel today would be Virgin Atlantic’s The Loft on its Airbus A350s, although The Loft is located between the exit doors while Emirates’ 777X lounge is clearly in the middle of the cabin.

The Loft on Virgin Atlantic's Airbus A350.

At a glance, Emirates’ treatment has seating for four passengers on either side, flanking what we suspect will be a self-serve snack and refreshment bar.

Emirates' onboard 777X lounge.

Also read: Surprising details for Emirates’ all-new economy seat