The head of Dubai's Emirates Airline has urged Boeing to appoint a heavyweight figure with extensive engineering and commercial experience to lead a deep overhaul of the U.S. aerospace giant, stating that the task of ending the manufacturer's recent crisis of confidence "must be accomplished."
"Can this issue be fixed and salvaged? Yes, it can. Can it be restored to its rightful state? It must be. And this can only be achieved through very strong leadership focused on doing the right thing," Emirates President Tim Clark told reporters on the sidelines of a major airline summit.
He said it could take five years to restore the manufacturer to a state where it can smoothly meet existing and new demand after a series of safety and industrial issues.
Emirates, the world's largest buyer of long-haul aircraft, aims to meet the needs of its Gulf hub.
Following the door plug rupture incident on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in January, Boeing announced its CEO Dave Calhoun would resign by the end of the year, and the company is searching for a new CEO.
Clark, who has been critical of Boeing during the crisis, told Reuters he had never met Calhoun, who took office in January 2020 after replacing his predecessor, who resigned following two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed nearly 350 people.
Boeing did not immediately respond to Clark's comments.
Last December, Boeing appointed Stephanie Pope as the newly created Group Chief Operating Officer, a move that was seen as positioning her as the leading contender to succeed Calhoun in the coming years.
When asked what qualities he hoped the new Boeing CEO would possess, Clark said: "I think we need someone with broad aviation engineering capabilities and good commercial management skills to solve this issue. Whether Stephanie Pope can fulfil this task, only time will tell."
He added: "But we need planes and cannot always face delays. We have businesses to run, and if we have to pay for the refurbishment of all these existing planes, Boeing should bear that responsibility."
As the largest operator of the 777 family, Emirates is undertaking what it calls the biggest interior refurbishment of its existing planes as it awaits the first delivery of the Boeing 777X, a delivery that has been delayed for at least five years since 2020.
Clark said Boeing has yet to provide a firm delivery date for the plane but indicated it would be in 2025.
Clark said he plans to meet with Pope, in her capacity as Boeing's new head of manufacturing, during the International Air Transport Association's annual meeting in Dubai over the next two days.
Pope previously led the Global Services division, which was Boeing's only profitable unit in the first nine months of 2023.
Following the door plug incident, Boeing announced Calhoun's early departure plans and appointed Pope as head of the commercial aircraft division, replacing the dismissed Stan Deal.
Analysts have indicated Pope is still regarded as a strong contender for the CEO position, alongside several external candidates, including Spirit AeroSystems CEO Pat Shanahan.
