Emirates president and aviation industry veteran Tim Clark will retire next year after more than three decades at the world's biggest long-haul airline, whose growth he took to dizzying heights.

Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed on Tuesday sent an internal memo informing company staff of Mr Clark's departure in June , an Emirates spokeswoman said.

Mr Clark, who turned 70 in November, will continue as a consultant to the airline, according to the memo. There was no information of the company’s plans to find or appoint a successor, the spokeswoman said.

During his 35 year-service at Emirates, Mr Clark helped to transform the Dubai airline into an intercontinental connector that siphoned traffic from well-established legacy airlines and dictated aircraft specification to global plane makers Boeing and Airbus, as per its operational requirements.

Emirates has helped transform Dubai into a major global travel and finance hub.

“It is the end of an era,” independent aviation consultant John Strickland said. “He was a true visionary: without Tim, I believe Emirates would not be the success it is today and the aircraft manufacturers owe him a debt of gratitude for pushing them to make market-leading aircraft that have seen wider success thanks to Tim pushing for greater specification capability.”

_____________

Profile: The aviation 'genius' who masterminded the Dubai airline's ascent

_____________

Mr Clark is stepping down after conducting what he called a “root and branch” review of the airline’s fleet and network following an end to its flagship Airbus A380 double-decker.

As a result, he has overhauled the Emirates fleet to embrace smaller wide-body jets amid a backdrop of slower travel demand and sluggish economic growth. This culminated in a series of restructured deals at the Dubai Airshow last month that included the mid-sized Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 Neo jets, charting a new strategy for growth for the company.

While the airline has been profitable during the past three decades, it has recently grappled with a series of challenges ranging from geopolitical tensions to lower oil prices, currency fluctuations and trade wars that have hurt the global economy’s growth.

During his 16 years at the helm, the executive has navigated Emirates through periods which have included major financial crises, big industry shake-ups and natural disasters.

Under the Briton’s leadership, the airline pioneered exexemplary luxury features that allowed premium passengers to take a shower at 9,000 metres above ground and enjoy a drink at its upstairs bar on the A380 double-decker.

Mr Clark joined the airline in 1985 as head of planning and rose up the ranks to become company president in 2003, according to his biography on Emirates’ website.

Before joining Emirates, Mr Clark was a route planner at Gulf Air and worked at Caledonian Airways.

The airline executive, who is widely respected in the industry, holds a degree in Economics from London University in the UK and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Emirates began operations in 1985 with planes leased from Pakistan International Airlines and has grown today to operate a fleet of 270 aircraft, flying to 159 destinations.

_____________

The first flight. Courtesy Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid gave Emirates two Boeing 727-200s in 1985. Courtesy Emirates The first passengers board the inaugural Emirates flight in 1985. Courtesy Emirates A ticket stub from the airline's first flight. Courtesy Emirates The red carpet was rolled out for the inaugural flight in 1985. Courtesy Emirates The first flight departs the mainland and heads for India. Courtesy Emirates Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, second from the left, became chairman of Emirates when the airline was launched. He was also appointed President of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation in the same year. He is currently chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group. To the right is Maurice Flanagan. He moved to Dubai in 1978 to run dnata and later became managing director of Emirates airline and then of the Emirates Group. he stepped down as executive vice-chairman in 2013 and passed away earlier this year. Courtesy Emirates The first flight arrives in Karachi. Courtesy Emirates The crew on board an Emirates flight are all smiles. Emirates took delivery of its first bought aircraft, an Airbus 310 in 1987. The Airbus A310-300 was designed to Emirates specifications. Courtesy Emirates Emirates cabin crew in the 1980s. The 1990 Emirates ordered three more Airbus A310-300s at the Asean Aerospace exhibition in Singapore. Then, in 1991, it began services to the busiest international hub in the world – London Heathrow before ordering seven Boeing 777s, with an option for seven more. Courtesy Emirates Emirates' first video system pictured in 1992. Courtesy Emirates Passengers enjoy the new video system. Courtesy Emirates First class passengers were able te recline and enjoy the visual entertainment from 1992. Courtesy Emirates The video system included the soon-to-become classic film Home Alone. Courtesy Emirates A passenger adjusts the video system. In 1996, Emirates took delivery of its first Boeing 777-200 and became the first airline to show live footage of take-off and landing on its in-flight entertainment system. Courtesy Emirates An Emirates A380 soars during the Dubai Air Show in 2013. That year Concourse A, the world’s first purpose built A380 concourse, opened its doors at Dubai International Airport. The giant building with 20 A380 gates was over 800 metres long. Emirates rewrote aviation history with an order for 200 aircraft – 150 Boeing 777Xs and 50 A380s, costing $99 billion. AFP In 2000, Emirates was the first airline to sign up for the Airbus A380, pictured, when it ordered seven, with an option on five more, at the Farnborough Air Show. It also bought another six Boeing 777-300s. In 2001, it signed a £24 million deal to sponsor English Premiership football club Chelsea for four years, and announced a $15 billion order for 15 A380s, eight A340-600s, three A330s and 25 Boeing 777s. In 2003, it broke records at the Paris Air Show with an order for 71 aircraft at a cost of $19 billion. In the same year it launched ice, making it the first airline to offer more than 500 channels of in-flight entertainment on demand in all classes, the widest choice in the skies. In 2007, Captain Abbas Shaban, a UAE national, was the first pilot qualified to fly the A380, which the airline took delivery of in 2008. AFP Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid descends the stairs of an A380 cargo plane on arrival at Dubai World Central, Al Maktoum International Airport which opened on June 27, 2010 with the aim of becoming the world's busiest. Emirates SkyCargo moved its freighter operations to DWC in 2014. AP Photo Dubai International Airport is now the busiest in the world for international passenger traffic. It projects annual passenger traffic of 79 million for 2015. Pawan Singh / The National Emirates, now with a route network of 140 cities, and 267 aircraft on order worth $128 billion, rolled out its new television advert featuring Friends star Jennifer Aniston earlier this month. Courtesy Emirates Hollywood actress, director and producer Jennifer Aniston makes a return to the Emirates A380, and makes a new friend, in a new global digital and TV advertising campaign in 2016. Courtesy Emirates Emirates and flydubai today unveiled an extensive partnership which will see the two Dubai-based airlines join forces to offer customers unmatched travel options in 2017. Courtesy Emirates Emirates launches the world’s first fully-enclosed First Class private suites, with unmatched luxury and privacy, in 2017. Courtesy Emirates Emirates buys 30 Boeing 787-9 aircraft worth USD 8.8 billion at list prices at the Dubai Airshow. This adds to its USD 16 billion Airbus A350 order, taking its total aircraft order at the Dubai Airshow to USD 24.8 billion. Courtesy Emirates Over 540 volunteer passengers from 145 nationalities take off on Emirates flight EK2019, breaking the Guinness World Record for the most nationalities on an aircraft. The historic A380 flight marks UAE National Day and the UAE Year of Tolerance, and showcases the diversity and unity of the citizen and residents of the UAE. Courtesy Emirates Emirates Airline President Tim Clark will retire in 2020. Reuters