Emirates slams Boeing over delays

Uncertainty over 777X progress may hamper airline’s fleet plans

The head of Dubai airline Emirates piled pressure on plane maker Boeing on Tuesday over delays to its 777X jetliner, warning that the uncertainty would cause significant disruption for one of the world’s biggest carriers.

Emirates President Tim Clark said he wanted “another grown-up conversation” with the US plane maker over the timing of the twin-engined jumbo, which is running at least two-and-a-half years behind its originally planned arrival of June 2020.

“We work to precision. I struggle with others who can’t get that,” Clark told reporters before he was due to meet Boeing leaders on the sidelines of an airline industry summit. Clark, an airline industry veteran who was closely involved in the development of the current 777-300ER model, has lambasted Boeing this year over repeated delays to its 777X.

Fleet plan issues

Clark, who was taking part in an International Air Transport Association meeting in Boston, emphasised that the uncertainty over Boeing’s progress with the programme would hamper his airline’s complex fleet plans which include Airbus jets.

Emirates, which has 126 777X jets on order, is a launch customer for the new aircraft that will replace the current 777 jets that are the backbone of its wide-body fleet.