Emirates president Tim Clark sat down for a discussion with aviation journalist Max Kingsley-Jones at the Aviation Club in London on February 29.
He said that Emirates once expected to take delivery of its first Boeing 777-9 in October 2025, but he now thinks Boeing won’t deliver the aircraft until 2026: “Every day is a different day at Boeing. It could be the back end of next year, but more likely early 2026.”
Clark believes that Airbus and Boeing fell “asleep at the wheel” during the Covid-19 pandemic by shutting down their supply chains without anticipating that airline demand would recover rapidly after the threat of the pandemic receded. The supply chain was not ready to scale up afterward. That has led to delays in getting aircraft out to customers.
Clark also expressed dissatisfaction with the projected durability of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engine that powers the 350-410 seat Airbus A350-1000 widebody. Emirates has ordered the smaller A350-900 variant but has so far held off on ordering its larger sibling until Rolls-Royce “gets the engine right.”
Clark did not disclose when he will retire, but told the audience, “all of us have to move on at some point.”
A lifelong aviation enthusiast, Douglas Royce is currently co-editor of four of Forecast International's Market Intelligence Services: Civil Aircraft Forecast, Military Aircraft Forecast, Rotorcraft Forecast, and Aviation Gas Turbine Forecast. As such, he plays a key role in many important projects that involve market sizing and forecasting for various segments of the world aerospace industry, as well as demand for related systems.
