Emirates boss slams planemaker "hand-wringing" over supplies
NEW DELHI, June 1 (Reuters) - The head of the world's largest international airline, Dubai's Emirates, voiced frustration over chronic aerospace supply problems on Sunday, challenging planemakers to take responsibility for late suppliers.
"I am pretty tired of seeing the hand-wringing about the supply chain: you (manufacturers) are the supply chain," Emirates President Tim Clark said at a news briefing on the sidelines of an IATA airline industry summit.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
29 minutes ago
- Sky News
Trump and China's Xi have 'very good' phone call and agree to more talks amid trade war
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have held a "very good" phone call amid their ongoing trade war, during which they agreed to more tariff talks. Trade negotiations between the United States and China stalled shortly after a 12 May agreement between the two countries to reduce their tariff rates while talks took place. The call was first reported by Chinese state media and confirmed by the Chinese foreign ministry. According to Chinese state media, Mr Trump initiated the call with the Chinese president. In a post on his Truth Social site the US president said: "I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal." He said the call lasted around an hour and a half and "resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries". There "should no longer be any questions" on rare earth products, he said. "The conversation was focused almost entirely on TRADE. Nothing was discussed concerning Russia/Ukraine, or Iran," Mr Trump added. He said the two nations had agreed to more tariff talks, and both leaders invited each other to visit their respective countries. According to Chinese state media, Mr Xi "pointed out that it is especially important to correct the course of the big ship of China-US relations, which requires us to keep the rudder and set the direction, especially to remove all kinds of interference and even sabotage". Mr Xi "emphasised that the US should handle the Taiwan issue carefully to avoid the two countries being dragged "into a dangerous situation of conflict and confrontation". According to the readout of the call, Mr Trump "expressed great respect for President Xi Jinping and the importance of the US-China relationship". It came a day after Mr Trump declared it was difficult to reach a deal with his Chinese counterpart. "I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but he is very tough, and extremely hard to make a deal with!!!," Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site. The US president has cut his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days to allow for talks, while China reduced its taxes on US goods from 125% to 10%. The trade war has produced sharp swings in global markets and threatens to damage trade between the two nations. Mr Trump's treasury secretary Scott Bessent had suggested only a conversation between the two leaders could resolve their differences in order for talks to begin in earnest. Mr Trump and Mr Xi last spoke in January, three days before his inauguration, where they discussed trade, as well as Mr Trump's demand for China to do more to stop the drug fentanyl from entering the US.
Reuters
30 minutes ago
- Reuters
Boeing rebuilding trust as airline bosses see improved jet quality
NEW DELHI, June 5 (Reuters) - Airline bosses are tentatively voicing greater confidence in Boeing's (BA.N), opens new tab ability to deliver jets at the right quality in a step towards ending years of reputational damage for the embattled planemaker. An annual summit of airline leaders in New Delhi this week struck a more optimistic tone about Boeing's recovery from overlapping safety, regulatory and industrial crises, though executives stressed Boeing still had much work left to do. "What we've seen quarter to quarter is an improvement in safety, an improvement in quality," Seattle-based Alaska Airlines (ALK.N), opens new tab CEO Ben Minicucci told Reuters at the International Air Transport Association's annual meeting. "Are they yet there? No, there's still a lot of work." In January last year, a door missing four bolts blew off a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX jet at 16,000 feet. The ripple effect from the incident caused a crisis throughout the aviation industry, hitting suppliers, carriers and passengers. Planemakers often have to run the gauntlet of airline criticism at IATA's annual meeting, where IATA head Willie Walsh last year urged Boeing to learn from errors that fuelled a crisis beginning with fatal crashes of two MAX jets in 2018 and 2019. One of Boeing's most vocal recent critics has been Tim Clark, president of Emirates, the largest customer for big jets like the Boeing 777 and its long-delayed successor the 777X. At his annual sit-down with reporters at the summit this year, Clark spoke more positively about getting "clearer messages" from Boeing's recently appointed leadership. He welcomed a change of style under CEO Kelly Ortberg, revealing he had never met Ortberg's ousted predecessor Dave Calhoun. "It was nice to meet the head of Boeing," he said. Clark, whose airline has 205 of the still uncertified 777X on order, suggested growing confidence from Boeing in private. "When I talk about cautious optimism, in the last few years I had seen none of that" he said. Ortberg, who took the helm last August, has said he will address safety and quality concerns and repair trust with regulators, staff and customers. Boeing customers said the measures are showing some results. While Boeing is still trying to ramp up production, there have been improvements in quality and visibility of deliveries. "There is still further to go but it is definitely an improving story," said Peter Barrett, CEO of lessor SMBC Aviation, a major leasing company and Boeing customer. Few are taking Boeing's recovery solely on trust. Alaska Airlines has sent its own quality inspectors to Boeing's production lines and commissioned a quarterly audit. Alaska's Minicucci said Boeing had put in a "very diligent, deliberate process" to reduce out-of-sequence work, a disruption to normal factory flows blamed in part for the oversight of the missing bolts. He noted that Ortberg, who has moved to Seattle to be closer to the biggest jet plants, and Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope, appointed last March, regularly tour factories. "They're getting out there, they're walking the floor, they're feeling what's going on," Minicucci said. "I think that's different to what happened in the past." Other customers have noted progress, despite a bruising strike last year which halted most of Boeing's jet production. United Airlines (UAL.O), opens new tab CEO Scott Kirby, who took part in a revolt by U.S. airlines that triggered Calhoun's exit after the Alaska incident, said last week Boeing had "turned the corner". Still, few airline chiefs have any illusions about the scale of turnaround needed to restore the status of Boeing factories. "When I was there last year... I thought this is going nowhere at this rate," Clark said, adding he would return this year to see for himself the progress made since then. Boeing declined to comment on specific airline opinions. Nor does the brighter public tone mean airlines will necessarily ease pressure in private as they wait for new jets. But several airline executives at the IATA event acknowledged that Boeing had passed one key test of support at the industry's biggest annual podium, as it slowly stabilises production. "We have got a lot of work still to do (but) there is a lot of positivity from customers on our performance in the first five months of the year," Boeing Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales Brad McMullen said. It now faces a decisive test as regulators review higher output after Boeing hit a temporary ceiling of 38 MAX jets a month. It also seeks certification of models including the 777X. The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday higher output would not happen straightaway. Originally due to receive the 777X in 2020, Clark held out little hope of getting the upgraded jet before IATA meets again in June next year. Boeing has said it is now due in 2026. "The important thing is they get it out and it's certified to the rigours of the new Boeing: the new approach to building aircraft, safety of operation and all the quality controls that they were having difficulties with prior to that," Clark said.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Australia is 'safe and reliable' critical minerals alternative, minister says
PARIS, June 5 (Reuters) - Australia offers a secure alternative supply for critical minerals vital to industry, its trade minister Don Farrell said on Thursday, in the face of rising concerns about Beijing's dominance of the sector. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets crucial to sectors ranging from automakers to aerospace and defence was widely seen as Beijing using that dominance for leverage in its trade war with the Trump administration. While China is a top global producer of 30 of the 50 minerals considered critical by the U.S. Geological Survey, Australia has some of the largest critical minerals deposits. "We think we can be a safe and reliable supplier into the supply chain for critical minerals around the world," Farrell told Reuters in an interview. But Australia does not want to just "dig and ship" the minerals and aims to process them as well, although that would require capital from outside such as the European Union, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and India, he said. The EU and Australia signed a partnership agreement, opens new tab last year to develop critical materials along the supply chain ranging from extraction to refining and processing leftover waste. Farrell said critical minerals could end up in a free trade agreement with the EU that Australia and the bloc are trying to revive after talks broke down in 2023, mainly over agriculture. Australia has sent top trade officials to Brussels this week to nail down the next steps forward as both sides seek access to alternative markets as the Trump administration aggressively builds tariff barriers to its trade partners. "I think there is now impetus on both sides to look at another crack at the agreement," Farrell said in Paris, where he met EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on the sidelines of a meeting at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Farrell also met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the OECD and told him Australia wanted the Trump administration to remove its 10% baseline tariffs and 50% tariffs on aluminium and steel. The United States, which has had a free trade agreement with Australia for two decades, ran a $17.9 billion trade surplus with the country last year, according to Greer's office.
