Airbus delivery delays hinder JetBlue's growth



[ad_1]

An Airbus A321 aircraft from JetBlue Airways Corp. Pbades the terminal gate of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, United States, on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Jetblue Airways Corp. must publish its revenue figures on July 25th. Photographer: Mark Kauzlarich / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg | Getty Images

JetBlue Airways recently received unwanted news from Airbus: its planes are delayed.

The New York-based airline has more than halved its planned deliveries of new Airbus A321neo aircraft this year, dropping from 13 to 13, the delays having hit the European automaker.

"We are very disappointed with the persistent delays in our A321neo program because of Airbus production problems, including the additional delay we have received over the past 1.5 weeks," said JetBlue's general manager. , Robin Hayes, after announcing a price increase. more than expected for the second quarter.

These delays will reduce JetBlue's growth plans by about 2 percentage points for next year, JetBlue said in a paper. Flying without these fuel-efficient planes could also increase costs, he added. The airline plans to expand its capacity from 3% to 5% in the third quarter "which is unusually low for JetBlue," said President and Chief Operating Officer Joanna Geraghty.

Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Hayes of JetBlue said

The problems of delivery make it appear that the airlines that do not even fly the Boeing 737 Max, blocked worldwide after two fatal accidents, face the need to cope with the high demand.

JetBlue's competitors, including United, Southwest and American, are all challenged by the grounding of the 737 Max, another fuel-saving narrow-body aircraft that competes directly with the A320 family of aircraft. Airbus. These airlines canceled thousands of flights until November and regulators did not specify when planes will be allowed to fly.

[ad_2]
Source link