Boeing delays force top Africa carrier Ethiopian to lease planes

Boeing’s delays in fulfilling orders has forced Africa’s biggest carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, to lease aircraft to stay on track with its expansion. The Addis Ababa-based company has waited since April to receive 737 Max jetliners and 777 freight carriers, CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Boeing hasn’t provided a revised schedule for the deliveries, he said. “We are waiting to hear from them and definitely, late delivery of airplanes will affect our growth plan,” Tasew said. “In parallel with that, we didn’t wait for Boeing to deliver the ordered airplanes, and now we are leasing airplanes,” he said. Boeing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Commercial aircraft deliveries by Boeing, which is working through one of the most difficult periods in its history, showed signs of stabilizing in July, with deliveries in the month mirroring those in the same month a year earlier. Arlington, Virginia-based Boeing and rival Airbus SE are delaying airplane deliveries as they struggle with persistent parts shortages and workforce turnover that have lingered since the Covid-19 pandemic. The US planemaker faces added uncertainty with a possible strike looming that could shut down its Seattle-area factories next month. Several airlines have warned that Boeing’s late-arriving jets are taking a toll on operations and finances. <br/>