Sir Tim Clark is stepping down as President of Emirates Airline in June 2020. Tim Clark leaving Emirates is like Bill Gates leaving Microsoft or Jack Ma departing Alibaba. Those companies survived and evolved and so too will Emirates, but for now this is a shock.
Full disclosure up front, we really like Emirates and think Sir Tim is an aviation pioneer. He also has been quite supportive of Going Global and shows the same kind of enthusiasm for flying which our production team and community feel. He loves the airline business.
When the man who put First Class showers on planes and an epic Business Class and First Class lounge on their A380 fleet says it’s time to go, we respect his decision. Clark is leaving during a period of great change as Emirates looks to move from a hub and spoke model with the world’s largest fleet of over 100 A380s to a more direct model using smaller B777x and A350 XWBs. The move will see Emirates phase out their iconic A380s by 2030 as they move to smaller, more efficient twin engines planes which have ultra-long range and better economies of scale.
As this video from the first season of Going Global on CNBC World shows, Clark is a passionate leader who believes in preserving luxury in the flying experience.
Sir Tim Clark has spent 35 years with Emirates so there will definitely be a transition, though we know he’ll be leaving his baby in good shape. We wish him all the best and we look forward to being on board the airline born of his vision, again soon.
