WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Aviation Week has selected Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, as its 2013 Person of the Year. Aviation Week's editors recognized Clark for his role in reshaping the competitive landscape in the long-haul airline market and his outsize sway in aircraft design.
"Clark's in-depth airline and aircraft expertise combined with his friendly outspokenness have made him into one of the most influential figures on the customer side of the industry. Clark is never shy to express his opinion publicly," said Jens Flottau, Aviation Week's Managing Editor, Civil Aviation.
With Clark at the helm, Emirates Airline is the largest operator of Boeing 777s and a launch customer for the new 777X. Emirates also accounts for half of the Airbus A380 orderbook.
"Since 2006, Aviation Week's Person of the Year has recognized individuals who have had a major impact on the aerospace, defense and aviation industries— for better or worse," says Aviation Week & Space Technology Editor-in-Chief Joseph C. Anselmo. "Under Tim Clark's leadership, Emirates is transforming the competitive landscape in the long-haul airline market. Emirates has also become a crucial customer of Airbus and Boeing to the point where it holds sway in the design configurations of new aircraft such as the Boeing 777X."
Prior recipients of the Person of the Year distinction include German Chancellor Angela Merkel; Louis R. Chenevert, chairman and CEO of United Technologies Corp., United Continental CEO Jeff Smisek; the Space Entrepreneur; former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; the father of China's space program, Tsien Hsue-shen; Alan Mulally, previously of Boeing Co.; and Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, previously of Finmeccanica.
Tim Clark appears on the Jan. 13, 2014 cover of Aviation Week & Space Technology.
