Boeing in 'last chance saloon' following latest safety issues, warns Emirates head

Dubai airline plans to send engineers to observe production after plane maker reports new bolt problems

Emirates president Tim Clark urged Boeing to put manufacturing quality before profits. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Emirates airline will send its own engineers to observe the production process of Boeing's 777 aircraft and fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems following the latest safety issues.

The Dubai airline's president Tim Clark said on Monday that Boeing has let its production standards slip.

The aircraft maker was in the “last chance saloon”, Mr Clark said in an interview with the Financial Times.

“They have got to instil this safety culture which is second to none. They've got to get their manufacturing processes under review so there are no corners cut etc,” he said.

“I'm sure [chief executive] Dave Calhoun and [commercial head] Stan Deal are on that … this is the last chance saloon.”

He said the airline will, for the first time, send its own engineers to observe the production process of the 777 at Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems.

Emirates told The National it had nothing to add to what Mr Clark said in the interview.

The Dubai carrier is one of Boeing's largest customers. In November, it placed an order for 95 additional Boeing 777X jets and Boeing 787 Dreamliners, valued at $52 billion at list prices.

The airline's 777X deliveries – now totalling 205 aircraft – have been delayed for five years due to plane certification and engine issues.

Deliveries of the first 777X-9 aircraft are expected to start in 2025, while handovers of the 777X-8 will begin in 2030.

The delivery delays have led Emirates to refurbish its Airbus A380s and existing Boeing 777s to extend the life of the aircraft.

Soaring problems

Mr Clark's comments come after Boeing reported another problem regarding mis-drilled holes on some fuselages of its 737 jets that might further delay deliveries of about 50 aircraft.

The 737 programme is already under scrutiny from regulators after a door plug on a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet blew off on an Alaska Airlines flight in January, shortly after take-off.

That flight, with 177 people on board, made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport in Oregon.

The General Civil Aviation Authority said no UAE airline operating the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft was affected by the technical malfunction.

Shares at Boeing have declined 17 per cent this year.

In an update posted on Sunday, Stan Deal, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes – the division of Boeing that designs, assembles and sells airliners – said one of its suppliers notified the company about “two holes may not have been drilled exactly to our requirements”.

“While this potential condition is not an immediate flight safety issue and all 737s can continue operating safely, we currently believe we will have to perform rework on about 50 undelivered airplanes,” Mr Deal said in the statement on Boeing's website.

“While this issue could delay some near-term 737 deliveries, this is the only course of action given our commitment to deliver perfect airplanes every time.”

The FAA grounded 171 Max 9s after the Alaska Airlines incident and said it was investigating Boeing’s manufacturing practices and production lines, including those involving Spirit AeroSystems.

In January, Mr Deal said that Boeing would open its factories to airline customers.

“We are opening our factories … for additional oversight inspections to review our production and quality procedures,” said Mr Deal said, who is also executive vice president of Boeing.

“Spirit will do the same and we will learn from our customers’ insights and findings.”

In its most recent update, the FAA said “all 737-9 MAX aircraft with door plugs will remain grounded pending the FAA’s review and final approval of an inspection and maintenance process that satisfies all FAA safety requirements”.

“Once the FAA approves an inspection and maintenance process, it will be required on every grounded 737-9 Max prior to future operation,” it said on January 17.

Before the Alaska Airlines incident, Boeing had urged airlines to inspect 737 Max aircraft for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system.

Also last month, the FAA launched an investigation after a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 passenger plane's nose wheel fell off and rolled away as the jet lined up for take-off.