Emirates airline president Tim Clark has called for changes at Boeing after a series of technical snags in the past couple of months brought the regulatory focus back on the US plane maker.
Boeing has been given 90 days by the US Federal Aviation Administration to come up with a plan to improve quality and meet safety standards after the blowout of a door panel on one of its 737 Max planes in January.
FAA administrator Mike Whitaker told Boeing on Wednesday that he expects it to provide the FAA with a comprehensive action plan within three months that will incorporate the coming results of the FAA production-line audit and the latest findings from an expert panel report.
The FAA believes there was a “disconnect between the management and the safety system”, Reuters cited Mr Clark as saying at an event at the UK Aviation Club on Thursday.
“All this is something that some of us have been saying for a long time,” he said.
He also hinted at delivery delays for the first Boeing 777X jet.
“The 777X [delivery] is probably at the back end of next year and maybe 2026, if we’re unlucky,” Mr Clark said, as quoted by the newswire.
Dubai-based Emirates is the largest buyer of the roughly 400-seater aircraft, with a total of 205 Boeing 777X jets on order. While the aircraft was originally due to be delivered in 2020, Boeing expects to make its first delivery in 2025.
Mr Clark said at the Dubai Airshow in November that the first handover of the first 777X-9 aircraft for Emirates was scheduled for October 2025 while handovers of the 777X-8 were due to begin in 2030.
The airline placed an order for 95 additional Boeing 777X planes – the world’s largest twin-engine jets – along with 787 Dreamliners, valued at $52 billion at list prices, as part of plans to replace ageing aircraft and further expand its fleet.
"Emirates has already experienced several years of delays with the 777-9 and depends on it both for fleet renewal and growth," John Strickland, an aviation consultant with JLS Consulting, told The National.
"It is equally important in keeping average aircraft capacity at a higher level in the years ahead as the airline looks to retirement of its A380 fleet into the 2030’s. Any further delay into 2026 will require some re-planning of its schedules and capacity for the affected period."
Boeing has been scrambling to explain how the door plug on a brand new Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 blew out during flight.
The head of plane maker's 737 Max programme, Ed Clark, left the company last month amid intense scrutiny around production and safety measures following the January 5 incident, which led to the FAA grounding the Max 9 for several weeks.
Mr Clark, who had been with the plane maker for about 18 years, departed as Boeing vowed to improve production quality.
A previous crisis over fatal crashes in 2019 also led to a 20-month grounding of the Max aircraft, slowing certification of future planes, including the 777X.
The panel that flew off the Alaska Airlines jet appeared to be missing four key bolts, according to a preliminary report from the US National Safety Transportation Board in early February.
“Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements,” Mr Whitaker said this week, following the meeting with Boeing chief executive and president Dave Calhoun and his senior safety team.
“Making foundational change will require a sustained effort from Boeing’s leadership, and we are going to hold them accountable every step of the way, with mutually understood milestones and expectations,” he said.
“Boeing must take a fresh look at every aspect of their quality control process and ensure that safety is the company’s guiding principle.”
The US plane maker “really needs to do this”, said Emirates airline’s Mr Clark said in London. “Whether this means a change in the governance model, I don’t know. When you change the governance model, it invariably involves changing the people around the old governance model,” he said.
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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