Emirates chief slams planemaker 'hand-wringing' over supply chain woes

The head of the world's largest international airline, Dubai's Emirates, voiced frustration on Sunday over chronic aerospace supply problems, challenging planemakers to take responsibility for late suppliers.

  Leading plane manufacturers Boeing and Airbus are months and years behind on new plane deliveries, frustrating airlines which want to upgrade to more fuel-efficient aircraft and launch new services.

  "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 airline industry summit. 

 

  However, Clark also said he was seeing a greater degree of determination from Boeing to resolve its many issues, and the U.S. planemaker was indicating cautious optimism over its recovery in top-level meetings 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.

  It 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 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.

  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.

  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.

  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.