China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co (國銀金融租賃) canceled an order for 29 Boeing Co 737 MAX planes, worth at least US$2.9 billion based on list prices, joining a growing list of customers scaling back plans for buying the grounded jet.
The move cuts the company’s outstanding MAX order to 70, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday.
The 737 MAX 10s still on order are to be converted to smaller MAX 8 aircraft, while the delivery of 20 jets are to be deferred to between 2024 and 2026, the company said.
Photo: Reuters
Boeing is working with regulators to clear a flying ban on the MAX, which has been grounded worldwide since March last year following two fatal crashes.
Earlier this month, leasing firm Avolon Holdings Ltd canceled an US$8 billion deal for 75 jets, and General Electric Co’s aircraft-leasing division followed that last week when it canceled an order worth at least US$6.9 billion for 69 undelivered jets.
The COVID-19 pandemic is adding to Boeing’s woes as it crushes travel and demand for planes. CEO Dave Calhoun has said the company would face a “new reality” in a market that could take years to recover.
“Boeing will offer certain economic concessions that are intended to mitigate the effect of the amendments to the purchase agreements, in particular, the deferral of delivery dates,” the Chinese firm said in its statement.
In a separate development, BOC Aviation Ltd (中銀航空租賃) on Sunday said it purchased six 787-9 and 16 MAX 9 aircraft in a sale and leaseback agreement with United Airlines Holdings Inc. It did not disclose the value of the deal.
After suspending MAX output in January, Boeing plans to slowly restart production of the narrow-body model soon to stress-test its supply chain and avoid flooding the market with unneeded planes.
Meanwhile, Germany will order 45 fighter aircraft from Boeing to replace the Luftwaffe’s aging Tornado jets, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday.
German Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer e-mailed US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Thursday last week to inform him of the decision, the magazine said, without identifying the source of its information.
Germany plans to order 30 F/A-18 Super Hornets and 15 EA-18G Growlers, the report added.
“While we continue to await an official announcement, we remain committed to working in support of both the German and US governments on this important procurement,” a spokesman for Boeing wrote in an e-mail.
A combination of Hornets and Growlers “is ideally suited to meet Germany’s strike fighter and electronic warfare aircraft requirements,” the spokesman said.
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