Airbus Delays Delivery of Long-Range A330neo
December 16 2016 - 8:27AM
Dow Jones News
By Patricia Kowsmann in Lisbon and Robert Wall in London
Airbus Group SE has delayed delivery plans for one of its newest
long-range planes, adding to pressure on the European plane maker
to meet commitments to airline customers.
TAP Portugal Chief Executive Fernando Pinto on Friday told The
Wall Street Journal the carrier's first A330neo plane wouldn't
arrive until March 2018. Airbus had initially promised the plane
would be delivered around the end of next year.
Airbus is upgrading its A330 widebody with engines made
exclusively by Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC. The enhancement, called
the A330neo for new engine option, promises greater fuel efficiency
and range. Airbus declined to comment.
For Toulouse, France-based Airbus, it is the latest in a string
of setbacks which have hit the world's second-largest airplane
maker after Boeing Co.
Airbus is struggling to meet a target to deliver more than 670
planes this year. The company has to deliver at least a record 94
planes this month to achieve that promise to shareholders. Plane
deliveries are crucial to Airbus's cash flow.
Airliners have been slow to go out the door at Airbus because of
supplier problems. Pratt & Whitney, the engine unit of United
Technologies Corp., has fallen behind in building engines for some
Airbus A320 single-aisle aircraft. Airbus has had some of the
planes it had already built stuck on the ramp awaiting engines.
United Technologies Chief Executive officer Gregory J. Hayes
this week told investors the company was making progress in
catching up with building engines, but the job wasn't done. "There
is still a handful of parts out there that we're chasing," he
said.
Delays in obtaining plane seats and toilet doors also have set
back delivery of A350 long-range planes. Airbus promised to hand
over at least 50 of those this year. It had delivered only 34 in
the first 11 months of the year.
The plane maker this year also said development of its largest
twin-engine long-range plane, the A350-1000, had fallen behind
plan. The plane, which first flew in November, won't be delivered
until the second half of next year. Airbus previously had forecast
a mid-2017 handover to the aircraft's first planned operator, Qatar
Airways.
Airbus has sold 186 A330neo planes. TAP has ordered 14 of them.
Mr. Pinto said the airline also planned to lease 6 more of the
planes.
Write to Patricia Kowsmann at patricia.kowsmann@wsj.com and
Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 16, 2016 08:12 ET (13:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Rolls Royce (PK) (USOTC:RYCEY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Rolls Royce (PK) (USOTC:RYCEY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024