Air Lease warns on Boeing 777X, Lufthansa places order

Boeing was at the centre of a tug of war over the future of its newest jet on Monday as Germany's Lufthansa ordered the 777X Freighter hours after an influential industry leader questioned the delayed programme's viability. The US planemaker last month pushed back first delivery of the world's largest twin-engined jetliner by more than a year to 2025, five years after it was originally due. The cargo version is a recent expansion of the delayed jet project. Asked if he saw risks to the future of the 777X programme as a result of cumulative delays, Air Lease Corp (Executive Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy, told financiers, "yes." Pressed on whether it was possible the whole programme could be cancelled, Udvar-Hazy, widely seen as the father of the modern leasing industry, said that would depend on what the Boeing board looks like in 18 to 24 months. "What I'm saying is that those decisions whether to continue with the programme or not, it will probably not be made by this board of directors anyway," Udvar-Hazy told the Airline Economics conference in Dublin. A Boeing spokesperson referred to comments last month by Chief Executive Dave Calhoun, who said, "We've got to give ourselves the time and freedom to get this right." Boeing has also said it is highly confident in the 777X family. Udvar-Hazy's warning came days after the head of Dublin-based lessor Avolon told a different Dublin event hosted by Airfinance Journal that Boeing had "lost its way" after a barrage of problems and may need new management. <br/>