New President soon?
 

From the National:

The Emirates president Tim Clark said the world’s biggest long-haul airline faces a "gathering storm" as a new generation of low-cost carriers targets the intercontinental routes around which it has built its business.

Dubai’s Emirates sees threats across all markets from rivals spanning Norwegian Air Shuttle to the Scoot unit of Singapore Airlines, Mr Clark said on Thursday in Berlin. The carrier may also need to establish a short-haul fleet as Middle East nations that it has struggled to serve begin to open up, he said, while cautioning that the decision will be one for his successor.


"The dynamic is changing in the Middle East with regards to access to new markets," the executive said in Berlin, where travel industry executives have gathered for the ITB tourism fair. "Our business model was set in the late 1980s, when access was denied to us by many places in the region."

Mr Clark, who has run Emirates since 2003, said that while he sees no immediate switch away from an all-wide-body fleet, "others coming behind may take a different view". The 67-year-old said it would be "remiss" of him to commit to a particular plan and that "business doesn’t stop when I go", giving the strongest hint yet that his time in charge may be drawing to a close.


Emirates has established itself as the world’s biggest carrier serving international routes by transforming Dubai into a transfer hub for flights between the Americas and Europe and Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

While Norwegian Air has focused its long-haul efforts chiefly on transatlantic flights, it also has a hub in Bangkok, while Scoot plans to begin flights to Europe this summer starting with a service to Athens – a city that is also part of the Emirates network – in June.


"At the back end of ‘90s I did a paper on long-haul low-cost," Mr Clark said. "Everyone laughed at me, but what I predicted then has finally started to happen. We have players in all arenas – Europe, America, Asia. It’s a gathering storm."

The executive said that the situation is being complicated by the response of established network carriers such as the British Airways owner IAG, which plans to start lower-cost flights using Airbus A330 wide-body jets, initially out of Barcelona, and Lufthansa’s Eurowings arm, which is expanding as fast in long-haul routes as it is on intra-European services.


After a "few years of instabil*ity," increasing demand for intercontinental services should be sufficient to support much of the expansion "as the pie grows," Mr Clark said. Low-cost carriers specialising in short-haul routes are also likely to play a bigger role in linking up with long-haul operators, he said. Ryanair already plans to provide feeder traffic to Norwegian, and has indicated that it might be open to connecting with Gulf operators.


Political and socioeconomic upheavals have created an environment in which running a global airline has become increasingly challenging, Mr Clark said. While a decade ago a major carrier might have faced disruptive events a couple of times a year, "the pace of change is accelerating and quite destabilising".

The US president Donald Trump’s overnight ban on travel by people from seven mainly Muslim nations to the United States led to an unprecedented 35 per cent decline in the pace of bookings, Mr Clark said, with demand remaining lower. Given its reach, Emirates is a major carrier for a clutch of neigh*bouring nations lacking their own long-haul networks, some of which are affected by the moratorium.


Short-haul planes are becoming a more attractive to Emirates as Boeing’s 737 Max model and the Airbus A320neo series offer significant gains in fuel efficiency and increase their flying range, Mr Clark said, adding that the jets would be an option for serving a "bigger, more robust" Middle East market.

The near 250-plane Emirates fleet currently consists solely of Boeing 777 jets and Airbus A380 superjumbos ill-suited to serving shorter routes, with the carrier ranking as the biggest operator of both types.


"I’m quite sure that management behind me will consider all options," Mr Clark said.

* Reuters

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When Timmy goes, stop the rest of the new 380's coming in plse. , ASAP.

Some people have no clue how business is run in this region of the world all they care is about the A 380 ....:cool:

What's wrong with the 380s? The neighbors can't even seem to get the tuktuk operation right

No clue? In this region businesses are run more with the face saving game than reason. I guess any first grade mba student can assess that EK ordered too many 380s for the actual economic environment. Any management with common sense would rectify the situation, however in this region it would throw some eggs in some peoples faces. Therefore they will continue to applaude the naked emperors until one of them leaves or dies and can absorb the whole blame.
That's why we have the Mikado game: Who moves first, is the loser. CM can't fight this stupid mentality. Maybe, just maybe the departure of TC can untie the gordic knot. It's the only departure where some merit can be given and at the same time a new start can be proclaimed.

A new start will definitely see a reduction of the 380s, I'll take any bet, so natops seems to have more clues than THRCLB.

Why is that natops? Don't like flying the 380 on CAT A concession or even contractual ALT when the flight would normally been overbooked on your precious little twin? Funny how most 777 drivers spew vile about the 380 but when they have to travel on one as a passenger, they're all praise about the smooth ride, quiet cabin and not getting bumped on a standby ticket. Grow up. Who cares about the economic viability of the machine, at least during your career span here. Most guys won't be here long enough to see it's downfall (if it ever happens. Personally I doubt it but that's pure opinion)

As long as Qatar and the airline down the road have the 380, Emirates will have them.

As long as Emirates has them, the airline down the road and Qatar will have them.

Welcome to the Middle East.

I quite like the A380. Even if it does look like it has Down's Syndrome.

It's perfect for some out our routes (London etc). However I do think it's the wrong aircraft for ULR, and I do think EK have way way too many on order. In fact it is the crazy order book, not the aircraft that most take issue with.

Most tractor drivers are not anti-a380. It's just a machine. A fleet of about 50 would be perfect for EK.

Btw it doesn't take an MA from Harvard to see we have way too many B777s also, and that a mid-sized aircraft is desperately needed.
But how to do without loss of face???

Oh well, at least "we just do it better"..

Quite right Plane and Simple. They are both the right aircraft for EK to have in the fleet - but there are just far tooo many of them. You need a smaller (single aisle?) aircraft to plough some of the thinner routes when pax numbers just don't justify the big birds, or for seasonal variation etc etc.
Surely at the end of the day the biggest victory you can have over your competition is to be the richest not just the biggest!

WOW! PLANE & SIMPLE....you must be a joy to meet.

Do you always hold people with disabilities in such contempt? And before you try to explain yourself, you are speaking in the negative. I really hope no child nor relative of yours has the misfortune of having a disability and having to suffer your prejudice...let alone having you display your ignorance on a public forum. Arse...

Do you speak your thoughts in public, or is this strictly behind a keyboard?

Plane and Simple, you're downright disgusting. I am very embarrassed that I have colleagues like you.

PLANE AND SIMPLETON,

You really are.

It is not that you are disparaging the A380,

its your use of a comparison of a machine to people who are innocent and beautiful and have enough tribulations in the world putting up with remarks from f..k sticks like yourself.

Please remove your post.

Sticks & stones, Captain Rex


SAY PRETTY PLEASE........

As someone looking closely at a move to EK, threads like this are both invaluable and dissapointing.

A very poorly worded comment, we are not all the same, so don't take it that way.

However a move from EZY to here, think long and hard, not 100% of everything here is true but if even 50% is (and way more than that is!) stay in EZY.
Many many guys are leaving and moving back, the main factor being quality of life and time at home with the family. Time off is a rarity these days and it is extremely hard on families now, quality of life has taken a nose dive the last few years and continuing the downward slope.

Back on topic. TC in this interview with Reuters basically hinted at some unpleasant truths that should be revealed in the annual report soon. Of course those truths will be downplayed and wrapped in Middle East camel sh*t.

Growth story finished - losing money - wrong fleet mix and order books - TC leaving to make room for change.

Impact of real world on alternate truth plans of narcissists. Phallic tower story continued.

Phallic Towers, 80m wide 'canal', multiple 'Disneyland' style theme parks, 2 international airports..... another 'world's highest tower' on the way -seems no lessons have been learned from 2008. EK is just a part of DXB's problems.

When Sheikh Rashid said "Build it and they will come" I doubt he had in mind some of the dafter current developments.

My dissapointmemt is directed towards the narrow body rumours. With 10K+ hours the majority of which is on narrow body I imagine a force draught on to the mini bus or tractor would be in my future in the sandpit if I go that way. Rosters killing us here, rosters killing you there, what to do?

I just love the advert at the bottom of this post. A dating site to meet Arab women....

Just another reason for me to stay!

Ha - in my browser in the UK it's an Emirates pilot recruitment ad