In a call for decisive action, the head of Dubai’s Emirates airline has urged Boeing to appoint a strong leader capable of steering the U.S. aerospace giant through a comprehensive overhaul. This comes amidst a confidence crisis that has plagued the company in recent years.
“Is it fixable and salvageable? Yes it is. Will it get things back to where it needs to? It must. And you’ll only do that with very strong leadership, who are fixated on doing the right thing,” stated Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, speaking to reporters at a major airlines summit.
The challenge of revitalizing Boeing, following a series of safety and production issues, is substantial. Clark suggested that restoring the company to a position where it can efficiently meet both current and future demand may take up to five years. Emirates, the largest purchaser of long-haul jets, remains a critical customer for Boeing.
Boeing is currently in search of a new CEO, following the announcement that Dave Calhoun will step down by the end of the year. This decision follows consecutive crises, most recently the fallout from a loose door plug incident on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet in January. Clark, a vocal critic of Boeing throughout the crisis, revealed he had never met Calhoun, who took on the CEO role in January 2020 after two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.
In December, Boeing appointed Stephanie Pope to the new role of group-wide chief operating officer, a move perceived as positioning her as a potential successor to Calhoun. Commenting on the type of leader Boeing needs, Clark said, “I think that people who have got a really broad aerospace engineering capability, who are good business managers as well, are the people that you need to bring back and sort this one out. Whether Stephanie Pope is going to be able to step up and do that (as well as) anybody, time will tell.”
Clark emphasized the urgent need for reliability in Boeing’s delivery schedule, highlighting the financial burden on airlines due to refurbishing existing fleets while awaiting new deliveries. Emirates, a major operator of Boeing’s 777 series, is undergoing an extensive refurbishment of its current planes as it waits for the delayed Boeing 777X, initially expected in 2020 but now postponed to 2025.
During the International Air Transport Association’s annual meeting in Dubai, Clark plans to meet with Pope, who recently took over Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes division. The unit she previously led, Global Services, was Boeing’s sole profitable division in the first nine months of 2023. Following the January incident, Boeing announced Calhoun’s early departure and named Pope to replace Stan Deal, who was dismissed in the same shake-up.
Industry analysts suggest that Pope remains a strong internal candidate for the CEO position, alongside external contenders such as Pat Shanahan, CEO of Spirit AeroSystems. Boeing had no immediate comment on Clark’s statements.