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Sir Tim Clark is worried about Boeing.
In an exclusive interview with The air flow The longtime president of the Emirates airline on Tuesday morning presented a surgical dissection of the American aircraft manufacturer and his acute battle with the 737 Max, 777X and 787, which according to him is existential, systemic and solvable.
“The blame for the culture, strategy, direction, priority of the company rests with the Boeing board and no one else. And this is where the goat should stop. And this is where they have to sort themselves out, ”he said. “So the relationship that airlines have with Boeing will be conditioned by what they see to solve their internal problems.”
The public reprimand is the sharpest Boeing has received from any customer following its crisis. Clark has managed the largest aircraft programs at Boeing and Airbus over decades and is one of the most influential figures in the industry. He believes Boeing has a way of rebuilding trust with regulators, customers and the traveling public.
“I’m sorry I had to say it all, but I think it should be said, otherwise we’re just going out of the Max era, as if nothing happened.” says Clark. Boeing’s leadership “can do it just the way they want. If they do not like what they hear, then it is difficult. It’s someone like me who says you have to sort yourself out. ‘
The nearly 90-minute interview covered a wide range of topics, including the future of the airline, which until recently held the title of the largest international airline in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its naval strategy and the future of its fleet superjumbo Airbus A380s. These topics will be explored in later articles.
Clark, 71, delayed his retirement last year as “this bloody pandemic”, according to him, plagued Emirates and the global airline industry. The closure of this stage of his career coincides with a disaster that has plagued the industry, and it coincides with the worst security crisis and operational crises in Boeing’s history.
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“Max’s wake-up call was something that told them everything was not right.”