Airbus stealth move: High-stakes aviation coup highlights United Airlines’ Boeing 737 MAX 10 order
Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, has been making phone calls everywhere trying to pressure Boeing to change its leadership. At the company’s fourth-quarter earnings conference, he hinted that the company is planning a fleet that does not use Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft.
Following the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 9, an accident in which an Alaska Airlines aircraft lost a door plug and rapidly depressurized mid-flight, the aircraft manufacturer’s ability to provide quality products and meet promised delivery dates; There is now even more room for doubt. . It’s a similar problem for Airbus, which is already seeing a decline in deliveries, but with a variety of new aircraft.
Boeing 737 factory assembly
United Airlines has ordered 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for the summer of 2021. 150 of those are for the newer, larger 737 MAX 10, which has not yet flown. MAX 10 launch customer United Airlines then ordered more in late 2022.
As United reviews its fleet plan, Airbus also thinking of ways to steal orders.
- The problem is that Airbus’ narrowbody order book has been growing for years. They have too many commitments to just hand over the A321 if United Airlines is willing to buy it.
- So Airbus is approaching existing customers. trying to buy back their delivery slots To make an offer to United.
European aircraft manufacturers have contacted jet leasing companies and airlines to offer to buy back as many slots as possible for Airbus’ popular A321neo jetliner over the next few years, according to people familiar with the discussions. There is. United Airlines is also looking for a way to break its long-delayed contract with Boeing for hundreds of 737 Max 10 planes…Airbus is willing to pay a premium to recover its sold-out A321neo jets. It will have to pay, supplying enough planes in an extremely tight market is a complex undertaking, and changing Boeing’s orders will be a difficult exercise.
United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9, Credit: United
I first reported in the summer that American Airlines was considering ordering narrowbody jets, with deliveries likely to take place after 2027.
At the time, I reported that American Airlines CEO Robert Isom had no interest in the backed-up order books of Boeing and Airbus. With all the orders placed by other airlines, there is conceptually no room in the delivery schedule for airlines to purchase additional aircraft over the years. But he suggested Boeing and Airbus would have room to fill orders because they are the world’s largest airlines and are in a position to deliver and pay for the planes.
It looks like this theory is being put into practice at United. With deliveries delayed and customer confidence shaken, if Boeing wants to keep its MAX 10 launch customers, it will have to discount planes even more than it had to do during the pandemic before travel picked up. It won’t happen.