Cathay Pacific defers 5 A350 deliveries, switches 6 to smaller model

Cathay Pacific will defer deliveries of 5 Airbus widebody aircraft by a year and switch 6 others to a smaller model as it finalised an order for 32 narrowbody aircraft, it said Wednesday. The carrier has been slashing costs and adjusting its route network after reporting Aug 16 its biggest first-half loss in at least 2 decades amid stiff competition from rivals. It announced a non-binding deal to buy 32 Airbus A321neo aircraft valued at US$4.064b at list prices Aug 21. That purchase was finalised Wednesday. Cathay also said Wednesday it would switch 6 orders for A350-1000s to the smaller A350-900 model, saving $288m based on list prices. The A350-900s will be delivered in 2019 and 2020, the airline said. Cathay added it would defer the delivery of 6 A350-1000 aircraft to 2021 from 2020. <br/>