Boeing says deliveries of some 737 MAX planes to be delayed; Air India and Akasa Air may be impacted
US plane-maker Boeing has warned of delays in near-term delivery of 737 MAX jets due to a fresh quality issue. The development comes at a time when Air India and Akasa Air are both waiting for plane deliveries. The plane-maker said it was evaluating its annual 737 delivery target of 450 aircraft.
The latest quality issue arose due to improperly shaped holes in the aft pressure bulkhead of some planes and involves its biggest supplier – Spirit AeroSystems. The structure in question seals off the rear of the pressurized cabin. According to a Reuters report, all 737 fuselages are unlikely to be affected as Spirit uses multiple suppliers for the aft pressure bulkhead.
Boeing believes the defect is limited to a portion of its bestselling MAX 8 model. The company is however evaluating if older-model 737 Next Generation jets have also been impacted. “This issue will impact near-term 737 deliveries as we conduct inspections to determine the number of airplanes affected, and complete required rework on those airplanes.
We continue to deliver 737s that are not affected," Boeing said in a statement. The defect also adds more pressure on Spirit after it took a financial hit from a another quality issue and reported bleak results due to a worker strike earlier this year. The planemaker's ratio of enterprise value to sales for the next 12 months is 2, compared to 1.3 for rival Airbus, as per Refinitiv data.
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