Boeing Brushes Off 737 Cuts As 787 Loses Another Order
Refutes Assertion That Rates May Drop “To 21/Month”
Overbooking Means Customers Have Flexibility In Deliveries
No Cancelled Orders For 737’s So Far In 2009
787 Suffers Third Major Order Cancellation This Year
Boeing moved quickly to dispel rumours that production of its erstwhile 737 family will drop to just 21 airplanes a month, based on comments made to GKN Aerospace CEO Marcus Bryson who visited numerous suppliers in the US.
In last months first quarter earnings call, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney had said that the company was already prepared for a softening of demand and that over-committing offset current and anticipated 737 production rates going forward, adding that more 737 orders were moving “out” than “forward”, suggesting customer deferrals of around 12-18 months.
Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx told FleetBuzz Editorial.com that “we continue to monitor our production rates to make sure we can deliver the airplanes our customers have ordered in a timely fashion. We have made no decision to change our production rates on the 737.“
Image courtesy of Boeing
FleetBuzz Editorial.com predicts that any cuts to 737 production will be closer to 26 or 27 airplanes a month or around 15% less than current rates.
Arran Aerospace’s MD/analyst Doug McVitie was quick to condemn the speculation of the 737 rate cut while slamming those who ignore the inflated monthly figures Airbus produces for the A320 family.
“Why don’t these tea-leaf-believers just play the Lottery instead of playing aerospace crystal balls?” he said.
Boeing also noted a third cancellation of 25 787 Dreamliners this year. Dubai based lessor LCAL and Russia’s S7 airlines have already dropped orders for the 787 this year although LCAL still holds a firm order for just a handful of the type. It is not immediately clear who this customer is who has cancelled orders for the 787.
“Boeing and a customer who wishes to remain unidentified have reached an agreement to cancel this customer’s order of 25 787s. It would be inappropriate for Boeing to comment further on the details of our agreement with this customer,” a Boeing spokesman told FleetBuzz Editorial.com.
The current 787 backlog stands at 861 firm orders.
77 comments May 7th, 2009
