Clark blows hot and cold on the A350-1000

Emirates President Tim Clark's recent scepticism regarding the Airbus A350-1000, particularly concerning the durability of its Trent XWB-97 engine, has raised questions about the airline's future fleet decisions.

During an event in London, Tim Clark voiced concerns about the Airbus A3501000's Trent XWB-97 engine. Emphasising the necessity to ascertain the engine's durability. Clark expressed his desire to observe its performance in the fleets of other airlines before considering it for Emirates. If satisfied, Emirates would consider the plane "at the back end of the decade," he said. This cautious approach indicates a thorough evaluation process, potentially delaying any decision until the decade's end.

Previous to this, Clark had criticized the A350-1000's engine at the Dubai Airshow, where he went as far as labelling it 'defective due to what he considered short maintenance cycles. The statement made by him was straightforward: the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97, the exclusive engine option for the Airbus A350, is "not performing as desired" on the A3501000. This critique had a direct impact on Emirates' order, leading to a significant reduction. Instead of the initially contemplated order of up to 50 A3501000s, Emirates opted for only 15 units of the smaller A350-900 variant.

Clark stated that the engine variant employed on the A350-900 is anticipated to meet performance expectations. He elaborated that the initial Airbus A350900s are slated to land at Dubai Airport in July 2024, with commercial operations commencing a month thereafter. The engines of the aircraft are limited to approximately a quarter of the cycles that Emirates desires them to complete, which falls within the range of 2,000 to 2,500 flight hours (FH).

Clark questioned, "Why would you buy a defective engine? He emphasised that the Trent XWB-97 engine, with only four or five hundred hours on the wing. falls short of expectations. However, he expressed confidence in the baseline Trent XWB-84 engine, which powers the A350900, and did not raise similar concerns about its performance.