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MORE plane orders flowed in at the Farnborough Airshow on Tuesday (Jul 23) despite supply chain pressures on jetmakers and complaints from airlines about delivery delays.
Boeing announced deals with Qatar Airways and Macquarie Airfinance, while Airbus secured orders from Japan Airlines and Virgin Atlantic – although much of the business had already been flagged.
Qatar Airways also held out the prospect of a “sizeable” order for wide-body jets around the turn of the year.
Delegates have been expecting limited deal-making at this year’s showcase aviation industry event, with Airbus and Boeing both sold out for several years of production and struggling to ramp up output amid supply chain problems.
Delays in plane deliveries have limited some airlines’ ability to take advantage of a post-pandemic travel boom which some say is starting to fade.
“I think all of us on the airline side are slightly surprised by the long impact of Covid on the supply chain,” Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss told Reuters, as his airline ordered seven Airbus A330-900s in a deal worth US$807 million, according to estimated delivery prices from Cirium Ascend.
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“We’re urging our … engine suppliers, the manufacturers, to do everything they can to get back on track.”
Boeing in particular had to scale back production as it came under legal and regulatory scrutiny after a panel blew off mid-air on a near-new 737 MAX 9 in January.
“It’s a fair sentiment on the part of the supply base and the airlines to say that we failed our commitments to them in terms of the timeline,” Ihssane Mounir, senior vice-president, global supply chain and fabrication, for Boeing told a discussion panel at the air show, as the planemaker pushes on with a recovery plan aimed at restoring customer confidence.
Running planes for longer
Despite the problems, many airlines are keen to lock in deals for more fuel efficient aircraft amid forecasts for strong growth in air travel for years to come.
Qatar Airways said it had ordered 20 more Boeing 777-9 planes, expanding its order book for the US manufacturer’s 777X family of jets to almost 100.
The deal, worth almost US$4 billion according to Cirium Ascend estimates, was already listed in Boeing’s order book as an unidentified customer.
Boeing also bagged an order for 20 737 MAX-8 planes from Macquarie Airfinance, worth just over US$1 billion according Cirium Ascend estimates.
Japan Airlines, meanwhile, finalised an order for 20 Airbus A350-900 and 11 A321neo jets, worth just over US$3 billion in total according to Cirium Ascend data.
The airline had said in March it would buy 21 wide-body A350s and 11 A321neo narrow-body jets, but it is only ordering 20 A350s now as it will receive one as a replacement for a jet destroyed in January in a collision with a Coast Guard aircraft.
Also at the show, Qatar Airways CEO Badr al Meer said the airline would decide on a “sizeable” new order of wide-body jets around the end of this year or in the first quarter of 2025.
He added the company had also decided to extend the service life of its Airbus A380 jets and would carry out upgrades including new wifi.
Airlines are increasingly looking to run existing planes for longer as jetmakers struggle with their order backlogs.
Consultancy Bain said in a report last week that airlines faced their longest ever waits for engine maintenance amid the shortfall in new aircraft, adding to their costs.
British Airways CEO Sean Doyle said at the air show that his airline was being “very vigilant” on new plane deliveries, but that at the moment “our planes are broadly coming in the timelines that we need them to come”. REUTERS
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