Tim Clark is not happy with the planes that the airline has on order. I'm not sure if he can do much given that global commercial aircraft manufacturing is a duopoly.
The fleet of 250+ aircraft is made up of both Boeing and A380 aircraft. The airline is looking at other aircraft for fleet renewal because of the end of production of the A380 and the current generation Boeing scrulls.
The following aircraft have been ordered.
The problem is that at this point the delivery timelines for just about all future delivery aircraft is up in the air, and that poses a major issue.
In an interview with Airline Ratings, Tim Clark, president of the airline, expressed his frustration with the planes that the airline has on order. What is the problem?
The biggest issue is with the Boeing 777X, since it will eventually become the backbone of the fleet. The current situation with Boeing is a complete mess, and the delivery of the first 777X by Emirates has been pushed back. Boeing hopes to certify the 777X by mid-2023. Clark isn't very confident about the timelines. He explains.
“Honestly, if it goes beyond 2023 and it goes on for another year, we probably cancel the program. What else can we do? We can’t continue the way we are. Boeing really needs to get their act together and get this aircraft sorted. Don’t forget – the aircraft was originally designed for delivery in April 2020, it’s now 2024 if we are lucky. You’ve now got a four-year delay with the program. If they got another year on it, we are going to question if this is fit for purpose or not, what’s the problem with it? I hope it doesn’t happen, as there is nowhere else we could go. They are building the biggest aircraft and we want it. It was done at our request back in 2010, I don’t even want to think about it not being happening.”
It's one thing if it were just the 777X, but the Boeing 787-9 isn't much better. Certification of the Boeing planes will be more difficult because of the production issues and the MAX fiasco. Clark explains.
“The total of 30 787s in there look very marginal now as they are so far behind in production. They were supposed to come in May 2023. But it’s not going to happen, how can they deliver? Look at the huge backlog, they haven’t produced any aircraft lately, that’ll take them two or three years to go over that. They got production and quality control issues that they admit, and now after the MAX crisis with the regulator saying ‘we want to have a good look at everything’, that is slowing the whole thing down.”
There is the A350 issue. The A350 fuselage is degrading at an accelerated rate and is being concerned about by the airlines. Clark describes the situation.
“Fact is, it is an issue. I am not unsympathetic to Qatar Airways. We made it absolutely clear in Toulouse now that, if we have the same problem on one of our aircraft, we won’t take them over. Akbar Al Baker told me, not sure if it is true, that there were aircraft that hadn’t been delivered yet, that were also showing signs of that problem. Akbar is a bit like us, he probably learned from us that we will not accept anything but perfection. That’s not unreasonable, isn’t it? Our engineers looked at these A350s and said they are not in a good shape. So we say to Toulouse: By the delivery of the A350, you will have cracked this problem, otherwise, you will face us with no deliveries either.”
Clark is one of the best in the industry. I think he is reasonable and has a great pulse on what is happening. All of his concerns about Boeing and Airbus seem to be correct. When aircraft manufacturers aren't delivering on their promises, where else is it supposed to turn?
It's not a good time for future delivery wide body orders, between production delays of the Boeing 787 and concerns about the A350. The airline has three aircraft on order and is frustrated by this.
All of Clark's statements are correct and fair, especially for Boeing, which is having major issues with both of its wide bodies. I'm curious to see what happens.
What do you think of Clark?
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