cath Pacific has just dropped a bombshell concerning the Boeing 7x could threaten the overall success of this program it is an announcement that has also caught Boeing by surprise and caused unease and tension within the company as it fears that this move could have drastic implications on the larger company so what has Cathy Pacific just revealed and what does it mean for Boeing and the larger commercial aviation industry stay tuned Boeing has every reason to worry after yet another airline slammed it for the delayed delivery of the Boeing 7x aircraft this is after Hong Kong's
flag carrier cath Pacific came out in October and aired its concerns over the delay in the delivery of The Airliner which is now running over 5 years behind the initial schedule speaking during an interview with Bloomberg the airlines chief operations and Service delivery officer Alex Macwan was quoted saying we want all our aircraft and we would like them to be delivered at the time that they're promised when they're not that's a disappointment to us this statement comes in the light of cath Pacific having to spend billions of dollars in a retrofit program that will see
its aging Boeing 7300 ER aircraft being fitted with a new business class Suite known as Arya Suite in addition to that the retrofit program will install new premium economy and economy cabins on these aircraft as the aircraft seeks to enhance its competitiveness in the increasingly competitive Aviation industry as it turns out cath Pacific did not initially intend to spend such a colossal amount on the Aging Jets however the continued failure by the American aircraft manufacturer to deliver the trip 7x aircraft means that the airline is left with no choice but to make doe with what
it has at the moment looking at the industry's projections it is possible to see why cath Pacific is frustrated at Boeing's failure to deliver these Jets on time you see over the next 5 years air travel demand is expected to soar with forecasts pointing toward a 4.3% annual growth as the industry recovers and expands post pandemic this booming demand puts Airlines Under Pressure to increase their Fleet capacity to avoid instances where they might be unable to capitalize on this demand and enhance their competitiveness since cath Pacific had planned to introduce the first of these aircraft
by 2025 the continued setbacks from Boeing mean that it might face a shortage of planes just when it needs the most this could spell significant financial implications as the airline could be forced to watch as its competition steals passengers right from under its nose purely because of Boeing's inability to hold its end of the contractual agreement but surely what went wrong with the Boeing 7 x so much so that it has taken Boeing more than 5 years to get it ready for commercial flights the delays that have left cath Pacific frustrated are not an isolated
issue in fact they have impacted every airline that has placed an order for the Triple 7x and continued to threaten their competitiveness in the long run however to understand the cause of these delays we have to look at a timeline of the development of this aircraft and the subsequent challenges that this program has faced throughout its development period to do that we need to go back to 2019 where issues with the high-press compressor of the ge9x engine required a significant redesign thus delaying the first flight to 2020 in 2020 the progress of the program was
further derailed after a door blew out during stress testing in the presence of investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration the pandemic further disrupted the supply chain pushing back the delivery timeline in 2021 the Federal Aviation Administration delayed certification due to an uncommanded pitch event and what it termed as the immaturity of the design another delay occurred in 2022 after tests revealed excessive temperatures in the ge9x engine meaning that this issue also had to be addressed before the aircraft could be certified the most recent setback came about in August 2024 when routine inspections revealed cracks in
the thrust links further throwing the projected delivery timeline of late 2025 into Jeopardy as it stands Boeing has admitted that it does not expect to have the trip 7x ready for delivery any earlier than 2026 now more Airlines cath a Pacific included are expressing uncertainty over the delivery timeline especially considering that Boeing is currently grappling with other challenges that could result in the trip 7x program being affected apparently Boeing is also facing challenges with the production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner after a discovery of a design issue on undelivered Jets saw the delivery rate plummet
significantly in the last few months also the aircraft manufacturer is rushing against time to have the the Boeing 737 Max 7 and 10 aircraft certified and ready for commercial Service as soon as possible with all these issues it is slowly becoming clear that Boeing might once again miss the timeline of the trip 7x program much to the detriment of cath Pacific for cath the delayed delivery of the Boeing 7x aircraft is particularly frustrating especially considering the fact that it has been a long-term Boeing customer the airline had high expectations that Boeing would prioritize fulfilling its
commitments recognizing the trust and Reliance cath has placed in the manufacturer the expectations were that Boeing would honor this relationship by delivering the ordered aircraft on time especially during a period of soaring demand for air travel where every aircraft is critical to staying competitive and enhancing cost efficiency now as it turns out cath is at a disadvantage especially considering the fact that other Regional airlines that it competes with already have enough aircraft in their Fleet or had made orders for Airbus widebody airliners meaning that they are not affected by Boeing's delays as much for instance
one of the airlines Regional competitors EVA Air chose to purchase the Airbus a 351,000 instead of the Boeing trip 7x and expects to start taking deliveries from late 2025 just when it had intended to receive them as such the more Boeing delays in delivering these aircraft the more CA loses out to such Airlines that do not have to face the frustration of delayed deliveries if cath is to remain competitive and avoid further financial implications associated with these delays it has to find immediate intervention measures and Implement them as soon as possible in fact it has
already started implementing these measures as seen in its recent decision to make an order for Airbus a 33900 the airline finalized this order in August 2024 and committed to purchasing 30 of these units a statement from a representative of the airlin said that this move was informed by the need to renew its Fleet and to enhance its efficiency and Service delivery specifically it mentioned that the airliner will offer the much needed flexibility to serve longrange destinations that are currently being served by the Aging aircraft that are largely inefficient and costly to operate now there's an
increased likelihood that Cath Pacific might decide to go with the competition in case Boeing fails to deliver on its promise this points toward more orders for the Airbus a 35900 or 1,000 based on the airline's operational Dynamics it is likely that it might order the 1,000 variant mainly due to its impressive range and capacity both of which are within the levels offered by the Boeing 7x if this happens it will signal the airlines significant shift from Boeing to Airbus further denting Boeing's competitiveness in the Long Haul niche with this move cath Pacific will have joined
the likes of Emirates km and quantis in moving away from Boeing and embracing the competition also Cathy Pacific could look into the possibility of leasing a few of the Airbus a 380 aircraft that are available in the market to offset the aircraft shortage occasioned by these delays it can attain this objective by partnering with industry players such as dor Nimrod Air 2 that have made a reputation for leasing these behemoths to Airlines now C can work out a short-term plan to add these super jumbos into its Fleet to ensure that it can compete squarely with
both Regional and international Rivals and is not disadvantaged by the lack of capacity to cater to The Soaring demand for air travel if this happens cath will join the likes of global Airlines and Emirates that have reaffirmed their commitment to the A380 for the foreseeable future on the other hand we need to look at what this statement by cath Pacific means for Boeing the fact of the matter is Boeing is aware that that it is currently a shadow of its former self and it has a lot of work to do before it regains its former
glory and reputation for making highquality and Industry disrupting Aviation masterpieces however it cannot attain that objective overnight instead it will be a step-by-step process involving a number of measures now one such measure relates to convincing its customers that it can deliver the ordered aircraft on time it can start by working out the issues that have resulted in the delays of the tri 7X and delivering it to customers by 2026 as it is now promised if it manages to do this it will start to gradually wi back the trust of Airlines this also means that Boeing
must continuously work on its broken culture that has resulted in a significant decline in the quality of its aircraft as we have already found out design challenges have been among the most critical issues that have contributed to these delays that have frustrated cath Pacific this means that if only Boeing can get its act to together adopt a culture that Fosters quality over the bottom line only then will it be guaranteed of better quality aircraft that are not marred by a myriad of quality control issues this is particularly important at a time like this when more
airlines are looking to ensure that the aircraft they add into their fleets are reliable and do not have safety issues that could drive the flying public away due to fear of what could happen this is particularly important for Boeing especially because cath is not the only airline that has has recently broken its silence over the continued delays of the tri 7x for instance in November 2224 Emirates which happens to be the biggest 7x customers at the moment slammed the American aircraft manufacturer for consistently missing delivery targets and subtly suggested that the airline is running out
of patience waiting for the widebody airliner he also suggested that in the next few months the airline will be having serious talks with Boeing to come up with a plan on to address these delays other airlines that have followed C's route include Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines the thing is Boeing has its work cut out for it and the sooner IT addresses the trip 7x mess the better for it and the already frustrated customers such as cath Pacific however failing to address this practically amounts to leaving the door open for Airbus to finally come in
and dominate the market with more reliable widebody airliners remember to subscribe to the channel for more videos like this and we will see you on the next one
