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Emirates President Tim Clark hinted at increasing the airline’s order book of A350s from the current 65, as the UAE carrier enters an “expansionist period”.
“As you know, we’ve had our wings clipped, because of COVID and supply chain delays. We are a frustrated entity because we need airplanes and we need them like now,” said Clark on the sidelines of the delivery of the airline’s first A350-900 aircraft in Dubai.
“Had the 777 9X been delivered to us, we would have 85 [new aircraft] by now. But with the A350 delivery, we are not trying to activate our network and grow it considerably more than what it is today,” he said.
With Emirates now accelerating its growth strategy, Clark dismissed plans of a sukuk or bond to finance the airline’s expansion, saying the airline currently had “plenty of money”, while also refraining from commenting on any future IPO plans, a strategy that close competitor Etihad Airways is openly considering.
The Emirates President, who has been a critic of the delays caused by Boeing, coupled with a strike earlier this year, said the 64 remaining A350s on order are “absolutely vital” for the airline’s growth strategy.
Clark also dismissed plans to review the 777x orders with Boeing, saying: “We have to bide our time and hope they have the ability to sort out the current situation they are in. I'm hoping that with the $21 billion they’ve just had injected into the company and the end of the strike, they will take the next few months to sort out what they’re going to do. We are watching that very carefully.”
(Reporting by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
