Due to worries over the Rolls Royce engines in the Airbus A350s,long haul carrier Emirates has indicated that it may postpone a significant purchase of the aircraft, which is a huge setback for the European manufacturer as it wants to complete the deal during the Dubai Air Show.
Emirates announced on Tuesday that it will postpone a significant purchase of Airbus A350 planes due to concerns over their Rolls-Royce engines, a big setback for the European manufacturer, which was hoping to clinch the deal during the Dubai Air Show this week. Emirates President Tim Clark’s remarks to the media at the event came the day after his airline announced a $52 billion deal with Airbus rival Boeing Co., while its subsidiary airline FlyDubai purchased another $11 billion of Boeing aircraft.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines announced the purchase of 31 aircraft from Boeing, including 20 737 MAX aircraft, indicating the carrier’s newfound trust in the single-aisle aircraft following a fatal crash with the plane in 2019 that resulted in its worldwide grounding.
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Airbus has yet to sign a large deal at the event, despite the fact that global carriers such as Emirates have recovered from the coronavirus pandemic’s lockdowns with rising global demand for travel. Clark expressed worries about the maintenance required for the A350’s Rolls-Royce engines to journalists at the Emirates chalet on the runway of Al Maktoum International Airport.
“If the engine was doing what we want it to do, then it would re-enter the mix of assessment for our fleet plan,” Clark said.
The Associated Press reached out to Airbus and Rolls-Royce for comment, but neither company responded immediately. When it comes to East-West travel out of Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, Emirates is a heavyweight. Clark also stated that Emirates needs to purchase aircraft immediately as it aims to grow its routes and networks.
“Irrespective of the difficulties of getting these aircraft out of the door, we have to place orders now because the lead time for deliveries are so long,” Clark said.
Clark also stated that the wider Middle East tensions caused by the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip would have no effect on Emirates’ business, saying that the company is used to operating around the region’s geopolitical concerns. Despite the fact that the Israeli market was one of Emirates’ fastest-expanding, he stated that the airline had to suspend daily flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, but that the airline was able to absorb the demand drop-off.
After the two nations established diplomatic ties in 2020, Emirates and FlyDubai inaugurated direct flights to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and Israel Aerospace Industries were both scheduled to exhibit at the Dubai Air Show. However, the IAI display, which advertised “Where Courage Meets Technology,” was roped off and empty on Monday. A few people gathered there on Tuesday.
Riyadh Air, a new Saudi carrier being launched as part of the kingdom’s trillion-dollar expenditure plan, is also looking for planes. The airline announced an order for up to 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jetliners in March and expects to grow further. Clark, on the other hand, stated that he is unconcerned about the competition.
“If Saudi Arabia wants to spend $2 trillion on wonderful things over there, they’ll need labor from somewhere.” And that work force must be brought in, and their carriers will struggle to match that demand in the early stages,” he warned. “Do I think there’s a problem with this group? No, I don’t… because we were able to construct Emirates despite all of the competition, escalating geopolitical and socioeconomic difficulty.”
The air show, which features billions of dollars in agreements as arms manufacturers exhibit, takes place two weeks before the United Nations’ COP28 climate talks in Dubai. Climate change campaigners have been particularly outraged by the amount of jet fuel used by the aviation industry. Emirates successfully tested a Boeing 777 with one of its two engines wholly fueled by so-called sustainable aviation fuel in January. SAF was approved for flights earlier this month, including one to Sydney, Australia.
“Decarbonizing civil aviation is incredibly difficult and will be long-term,” Clark added.
Ethiopian Airlines announced a contract with Boeing on Tuesday to purchase 11 737 MAX aircraft as well as 11 787 Dreamliners. It also decided to purchase 36 additional aircraft, 21 MAX planes, and 15 Dreamliners. Boeing described the acquisition as “the largest-ever purchase of Boeing airplanes in African history” but did not provide a sales price.
The 157 persons on board were killed in the March 2019 MAX crash shortly after takeoff from Addis Abeba. It was the second in less than five months involving a Boeing MAX, and it resulted in the worldwide grounding of all MAX jets for nearly two years. When asked about the disaster, Mesfin Tasew, CEO of Ethiopian Group, stated it “has left a big scar in our memory.”
“We have checked and confirmed that the design defect of that aircraft has been fully corrected by Boeing, and we have renewed our confidence in that aircraft,” he went on to say.
Tuesday’s other acquisitions included:
- Emirates announced $1.2 billion in transactions with the French company Safran, including seat contracts.
- Emirates has announced plans to build a $950 million repair facility at Al Maktoum International Airport, the city-state’s second airport.
- Egypt Air announced the purchase of ten Airbus A350-900s. The aircraft’s cost was not disclosed.
- Boeing and Kazakhstan’s SCAT Airlines announced the purchase of seven Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. It also did not reveal the conditions of the sale.
Frequently asked questions
What is called a long haul flight?
It all comes down to timing. Short-haul flights last up to three hours. Flights lasting 3-7 hours are classified as medium-haul. Long-haul flights are those that last more than 7 hours. Flights lasting more than 12 hours are considered ultra-long-haul.
What is short-haul travel?
A short-haul flight, on the other hand, is any direct or non-stop flight that lasts less than three hours.
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