Left with few options, major US airlines are using Boeing's safety crisis as leverage
Airline executives are frustrated with Boeing as its safety crisis has upended their business plans. But in a tight market for large aircraft supplied by two companies, they have little choice but do business with the US plane maker. Despite some public displays of alarm — United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby flew to France to talk with Airbus as Boeing's latest crisis erupted — carriers are still negotiating new plane orders, looking to leverage Boeing's delays to secure better terms. Boeing's delivery schedule faces extended delays following a Jan. 5 mid-flight cabin blowout that exposed problems with safety and quality control in its manufacturing processes. But rival Airbus already has a backlog of orders that makes shifting over a non-starter. Instead, airlines are adopting a variety of strategies to try to stay in the game with Boeing, using orders of one type of plane as a placeholder to possibly take deliveries of a different model. They also are negotiating harder, looking to use production delays to get discounts from the plane maker on new orders and compensation for financial losses. "Boeing customers don't have much option but to stick with Boeing whether they like it or not," said Scott Hamilton, managing director at aviation consulting firm Leeham Company.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-03-15/general/left-with-few-options-major-us-airlines-are-using-boeings-safety-crisis-as-leverage
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Left with few options, major US airlines are using Boeing's safety crisis as leverage
Airline executives are frustrated with Boeing as its safety crisis has upended their business plans. But in a tight market for large aircraft supplied by two companies, they have little choice but do business with the US plane maker. Despite some public displays of alarm — United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby flew to France to talk with Airbus as Boeing's latest crisis erupted — carriers are still negotiating new plane orders, looking to leverage Boeing's delays to secure better terms. Boeing's delivery schedule faces extended delays following a Jan. 5 mid-flight cabin blowout that exposed problems with safety and quality control in its manufacturing processes. But rival Airbus already has a backlog of orders that makes shifting over a non-starter. Instead, airlines are adopting a variety of strategies to try to stay in the game with Boeing, using orders of one type of plane as a placeholder to possibly take deliveries of a different model. They also are negotiating harder, looking to use production delays to get discounts from the plane maker on new orders and compensation for financial losses. "Boeing customers don't have much option but to stick with Boeing whether they like it or not," said Scott Hamilton, managing director at aviation consulting firm Leeham Company.<br/>
