Emirates takes delivery of its last Boeing 777-300 as it prepares for 777X

Emirates' last Boeing 777-300 has been delivered to Dubai. Photo / Supplied

Emirates has taken delivery of its last Boeing 777-300ER for its fleet as it prepares for the next generation of the plane, the 777X.

The aircraft, with registration A6-EQP is the 190th 777 aircraft to be delivered to Emirates, the world's largest operator of the aircraft type.

Emirates is also the only airline in the world to have operated all the six variants of the Boeing 777 family.

Emirates will also be one of the first airlines in the world to fly the two next generation models - the Boeing 777X-8 and 777X-9. The first of these models will undergo test flights early next year.

Emirates operates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the Auckland-Bali-Dubai service, offering first, business and economy class cabins.

The airline welcomed the first Boeing 777-300ER aircraft into its fleet in March 2005.
Emirates has operated one out of every five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft produced to date and the average age is 6.5 years.

Emirates Airline president Sir Tim Clark said the 777-300ER had been a cornerstone of Emirates' expansion to be the world's largest international airline.

''The aircraft's efficiency, range and payload capabilities have enabled us to connect our customers across six continents to and through Dubai and offer them a flight experience that is second to none. With 140 of these aircraft in our fleet, the Boeing 777-300ER will continue to play an integral role in our operations and facilitating global tourism and trade opportunities in the years to come."

Clark said his airline had worked closely with Boeing on the 777 programme over the last three decades, and would build on this partnership as we start taking delivery of the 777-8 and 777-9 aircraft from 2020."

Emirates' Boeing 777 fleet has carried close to 350 million passengers on more than 1.28 million flights and covered over 6.6 billion kilometres since 1996. That's the equivalent of flying almost 8600 times to the moon and back.

Emirates has just invested in brand new cabins for its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft including the game-changing fully-enclosed first class private suites as well as newly-designed zero gravity-type seats that Air New Zealand is also looking at as an option for its new premium cabins.

Since 2009, Emirates has also been operating the Boeing 777-F dedicated freighter aircraft.

Its fleet of 13 Boeing 777-Fs move heavy and outsized shipments, pharmaceuticals, flowers and race horses on scheduled weekly flights to over 40 global destinations. In 2017, Emirates' Boeing 777-F aircraft also executed more than 370 charter flights over and above regular operations.

From 2020, the airline will start taking delivery of 35 Boeing 777-8s and 115 Boeing 777-9s. These next generation aircraft will have a more fuel-efficient design and will feature larger windows, increased cabin pressure and humidity, higher ceilings, wider cabin and an advanced inflight entertainment system contributing for a better customer experience.

The 777X planes also have a wingspan of 71m, 10m longer than 777s flying now. Boeing has designed a folding wingtip so the new planes can fit into airport gates the ones flying do now.