Latest news with #Boeing777X
The National
2 days ago
- Business
- The National
Emirates boss 'cautiously optimistic' Boeing will deliver 777X jet by 2027
Emirates Airline president Tim Clark is 'cautiously optimistic' about Boeing's prospects of delivering the long-delayed 777X jet by early 2027. The Dubai-based carrier could receive its first wide-body plane between the third or fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, and is getting 'clearer messages' on that delivery programme, Mr Clark said on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) annual meeting in New Delhi on Sunday. 'I'm quite impressed with the energy, the concern they have about getting that done … that's why I was cautiously optimistic because they weren't just talking the talk, they were walking the talk,' Mr Clark told reporters in the Indian capital. Referring to his recent meeting with Kelly Ortberg, Mr Clark praised the Boeing chief executive's efforts to turn the company around. 'I can see a high degree of determination and earnestness to get the job done,' he said. Mr Clark plans to visit Boeing in September to see the assembly lines and inspect the work. He recalled a previous Boeing visit in 2023 when 'I ran out screaming and I thought 'this is going nowhere',' he said. There have been a number of delays to Boeing's 777X programme, originally scheduled to be complete by 2020. Under the terms of their current contract, Boeing is required to hand over the first jet to Emirates by October 2025. While that is no longer achievable, there is a 'glimmer of light', according to Mr Clark. 'The important thing is they get it out and it's certified to the rigours of the new Boeing approach to building aircraft, safety of operations and all the quality controls that they were having difficulties with before that,' he said. If Boeing manages to get ETOPS certification flight test programme by the first quarter of 2026, then 'it is conceivable' that the aircraft will make its first entry into service by the third or fourth quarter of next year. Emirates is already organising buyer-furnished equipment for its first 777X aircraft to be installed at Boeing's factory. Besides getting the 777X jets out of the door, Boeing also faces the challenge of ramping up production as quickly as it can, Mr Clark said. If Emirates had received the aircraft on its original schedule, it would be operating 80 of the 777-9s by now. Mr Clark is 'hearing good stories' about the aircraft's wing, propulsion and take-off weights 'but seeing is believing and we're watching very closely'. With continuing delays in new aircraft deliveries, Emirates has put 219 aircraft through a full cabin refresh at a total investment of $5 billion in its retrofit programme, according to its latest annual financial report. Meanwhile, the airline has added the first four Airbus A350-900s to its fleet and is satisfied with the engine and aircraft performance. While the aircraft deliveries are 'constantly delayed', when they do fly, they are 'very popular' and the dispatch reliability is very high, he said. However, Emirates has held off from ordering the larger A350-1000 variant as Mr Clark remains critical of Rolls-Royce's Trent XWB-97 engine durability in the Gulf's harsh and hot climate conditions. If the Trent XWB-97 engine improvements are sorted out, then there is 'absolutely no reason' why the A350-1000 plane cannot be successful with Middle East carriers, he said. First-class upgrade on A380s Meanwhile, Emirates, a long-standing champion of the Airbus A380, will keep the double-decker in its fleet until the 'back-end' of the next decade, Mr Clark said. The duration of the A380s' lifetime is related to the product support that Emirates gets and it now has a 'huge store of parts', he said. The airline will also introduce a new design upgrade to the first-class cabin of its A380s to keep it refreshed through the end of the 2030s. 'Like a hotel, you've got to keep at it and we'll change out the products,' Mr Clark said. The new first-class for the aircraft is 'on the drawing board' now, he said, declining to divulge details. DWC expansion To grow Emirates' operations beyond the constraints of its home base in Dubai International Airport, the Dubai government is expanding its second hub at Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). The construction work on the site is 'going at pace' and Mr Clark said he would not be surprised if the project gets delivered faster than its scheduled timeline in early 2030s. 'The workers are on-site and the equipment is on-site. We might even get it faster,' he said, declining to provide a prediction for an earlier delivery date. Asked if US suppliers such as engine-maker GE Aerospace could pass on tariff-related costs to airline customers like Emirates, Mr Clark said: 'They can ask what they want. I expect them to absorb a lot of that in their own margins.' However the on-again, off-again nature of the tariffs will make it difficult for suppliers to present their customers with predictable prices. 'At what point can you actually change a price point and present it to your customers on the basis of this ever-changing landscape of costs?' he said. Iata's 81st annual meeting of airline chiefs, with IndiGo as the host carrier, is taking place amid the turbulence of global trade tensions and difficulties around meeting the industry's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Emirates airline boss sees positive progress at troubled Boeing
NEW DELHI - The head of the world's largest international airline, Dubai's Emirates, said on Sunday there were positive signs of progress at Boeing, having previously voiced frustration over delays in delivery of new jets from the planemaker. Emirates President Tim Clark said he was seeing a greater degree of determination from Boeing to resolve its many issues under a recently appointed CEO, and management had indicated cautious optimism over its recovery in discussion with Emirates. Boeing is trying to stabilize and ramp up production after a quality crisis and then labour strike shuttered production of most of its aircraft last year. Boeing is also awaiting certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for its 777X wide-body plane, of which Emirates has 205 on order. Deliveries of the 777X are set to start in 2026, six years behind schedule. Emirates has been told it could receive its first 777X any time between the second half of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, Clark said, adding that he was sensing a more positive tone from Boeing on the plane's progress. Boeing and European planemaker Airbus are months and years behind on new plane deliveries, frustrating airlines that want to upgrade to more fuel-efficient aircraft and launch new services. Speaking at a news briefing on the sidelines of an IATA airline summit, Clark said the industry was still facing chronic aerospace supply problems and challenged planemakers to take responsibility. "I am pretty tired of seeing the hand-wringing about the supply chain: you (manufacturers) are the supply chain," Clark said. Last week, sources told Reuters that Airbus has been warning airlines it faces another three years of delivery delays in working through a backlog of supply-chain problems. Clark said the pandemic was no longer an acceptable excuse. "It's a highly consolidated industry ... I don't think they've managed to strip out the inefficiencies of the smaller units they brought together," he said of the largest aerospace firms. TARIFF IMPACT Emirates has not yet seen a shift in demand patterns as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war, Clark told an annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Clark said he expected U.S. manufacturer GE Aerospace , which makes engines for some of Emirates' planes, to absorb a lot of the impact from tariffs into its own margins. GE is Emirates' main engine supplier. It has said that it is passing along tariff costs to customers in the form of a surcharge. Clark has previously expressed frustration with its other engine supplier, Britain's Rolls-Royce, because some engine models have struggled with maintenance problems when operating in the world's hottest climates. On Sunday, Clark said opportunities still exist in the Gulf region for Rolls-Royce if it can deliver the required performance. He left open whether a potential deal for Rolls-powered Airbus A350-1000 jets, which faltered over the durability of their engines at the Dubai Airshow in 2023, would be ready in time for the next edition in November this year. "I am not sure about that," he told reporters.
The National
3 days ago
- Business
- The National
Emirates boss says Boeing conveying 'cautious optimism', with 777X delivery expected by 2027
Emirates Airline 's president Tim Clark said that Boeing has struck a tone of 'cautious optimism' during its meetings with the US plane maker, with expectations that the long-delayed 777X will be delivered by early 2027. The Dubai-based airline could receive its first 777X wide-body between the third or fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, and is getting 'clearer messages' from Boeing on that delivery programme, he said on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) annual meeting in New Delhi on Sunday. 'We've engaged with the senior management of Boeing recently and they seem cautiously optimistic,' Mr Clark told reporters in the Indian capital. Emirates is still awaiting delivery of the Boeing 777X after the US plane maker faced a series of delays on that programme since 2020. With ongoing delays in new aircraft deliveries, Emirates will now put 219 aircraft through a full cabin refresh at a total investment of $5 billion in its retrofit programme, according to its latest annual financial report. The airline has added the first Airbus A350-900 to its fleet but held off from ordering the larger A350-1000 variant as Mr Clark remains critical of Rolls-Royce's engine performance in the Gulf's harsh and hot climate conditions. Meanwhile, Emirates, a long-standing champion of the Airbus A380, will keep the double-decker in its fleet until the end of the next decade, Mr Clark said. This comes as it seeks to extend the lifespan of the aircraft with a lack of a clear alternative as the 777X is yet to be certified, while the A350-1000's engines are yet to prove their durability for the Gulf's operating conditions. Iata's 81st annual meeting of airline chiefs, with IndiGo as the host carrier, is taking place amid the turbulence of global trade tensions and difficulties around meeting the industry's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
19-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Qatar Airways profit jumps 28% to $2.1 bn, expects strong demand ahead
State-owned Qatar Airways posted an annual net profit of a record 7.8 billion riyals ($2.1 billion) for the 2024 financial year ended March 31, up 28% from a year earlier, the company said on Monday, and expects strong demand ahead. Demand from the Gulf has defied a global slowdown, with regional airlines reporting steady bookings even as trade tensions, currency swings and recession fears weigh on key Western markets. CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said the company had established strategic partnerships across the industry to enable it to "remain agile in the face of ever-shifting world events, whether political, economic or environmental." "Our best year commercially in the airline's history was 2024 and we fully expect demand in 2025 to remain as strong," Al-Meer said in a statement. Revenue and other operating income rose over 6% to 86 billion riyals for the 12 months ended March 31. The airline carried just over 43 million passengers over the year, up 7.8% year-on-year. Network capacity grew by 4% compared to the previous financial year. Over the past year, Qatar Airways has acquired a 25% stake in Virgin Australia and a 25% stake in South Africa-based regional carrier Airlink. It placed an order last week for 160 Boeing 777X and 787 planes with GE Aerospace engines worth $96 billion, the largest ever widebody deal for the companies, during U.S. President Donald Trump's high-profile visit to Qatar. Qatar Airways saw above-market growth in passenger numbers from April 2024 until January this year, a senior executive told Reuters in March, up 9% across its network.
Business Recorder
19-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Qatar Airways posts 28% jump in net profit to record $2.1 billion
DOHA: Qatar Airways posted a 28% jump in annual net profit to a record 7.8 billion Qatari riyals ($2.1 billion), according to a preliminary statement issued by the airline on Monday. 'We have also successfully implemented strategic partnerships throughout the industry, in order for the Group to remain agile in the face of ever-shifting world events, whether political, economic or environmental,' CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer was quoted as saying in a statement from the airline. The government-owned airline's revenue and passenger data from the last year were not yet available. The airline's complete annual report was expected to be published on Monday morning. In the last year, Qatar Airways, seeking to boost passenger numbers and connectivity, bought a 25% stake in Virgin Australia and a 25% stake in South Africa-based regional carrier Airlink. Qatar Airways rejects reports of office closures in Pakistan The airline placed a firm order last week for 160 Boeing 777X and 787 planes with GE Aerospace engines worth $96 billion, the largest widebody deal ever for the companies. Qatar Airways has options to buy 50 more of the Boeing jetliners. The airline's Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori told Reuters in March that the Qatari airline had seen above-market growth in passenger numbers from April 2024 until January this year, up 9% throughout its network, up 14% in Europe and up 12% in Germany.
