American Airlines is set to suspend its route between Philadelphia International Airport (PHI) and Madrid Barajas International Airport (MAD) due to delays in the delivery of new Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

A new route suspension

Last year, American Airlines was forced to suspend several routes due to Boeing’s delivery delays, as the US manufacturer faced regulatory setbacks. History is now repeating itself. The Wall Street Journal first reported that the airline will suspend its Philadelphia-Madrid route for a few weeks in May and early June.

In a statement to the newspaper, an American Airlines spokesman said the company remains committed to its customers and team members “and mitigating the impact of 787 delivery delays while continuing to offer a robust international network this summer.”

American Airlines has an unfilled order for 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliner 9s (and 88 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft), according to the manufacturer's website. Ch-aviation also marks the future delivery of three Boeing 787-8s.

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Earlier this year, Boeing was forced to temporarily halt deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner family after an issue related to the fuselage components was found. The FAA stopped 787 deliveries between February 23 and March 17, when Lufthansa received the first Dreamliner after the clearance.

Boeing’s statement on the subject

A spokeswoman of the US manufacturer said to The Wall Street Journal that the company remains focused on stabilizing its production system as it works with its suppliers. Boeing continues to work with its customers, including American Airlines, “on delivery timing and deeply regret the impact to their operations,” she added.

American Airlines is supposed to take delivery of three more 787 Dreamliners this year. One of these aircraft was supposed to arrive at the company in April 2021. Looking at ch-aviation’s database, three 787-8s and five 787-9s already have construction numbers. Two 787-8s have registration numbers N882BL and N883BM and had their first flights in November 2021.

Delays are impacting scheduling

Last year, American Airlines was forced to trim its international route map, suspending routes including those between Seattle and London, Los Angeles and Sydney, and Dallas and Santiago de Chile. The airline also delayed the launch of the new Dallas-Tel Aviv route.

Plane makers are struggling to get new planes quickly enough to keep up with increased global demand. Several airlines have gone public addressing the issues these delays have caused to their schedules. Ryanair has blamed Boeing’s administration for the delays on its MAX unfilled orders; Viva Aerobus last year said it had to reschedule due to delays in Airbus’ deliveries of A320neo-family-based planes.

The two manufacturers have defended themselves. Mark Pearman-Wright, head of leasing and investor marketing at Airbus, said ramping up production had been more difficult than expected. Earlier this year, during the Airline Economics conference in Dublin, he said,

“We’ve just come out of an unprecedented recession, and it's followed by an unprecedented recovery, followed by a war, in addition to a lockdown of China, which has also had an impact on the supply chain. To keep it simple, c'est compliqué (it's complicated).”

Meanwhile, Darren Hulst, vice president for commercial marketing at Boeing, said that in mid-2020, no airline wanted an airplane. The companies had to figure out how not to deliver. “Then all of a sudden, the switch turns back on, and you’re expected to deliver perfectly on time, all the time. I’m not asking for sympathy, but I do think you need to realize that it’s not as easy as an on/off switch.”

What do you think about this new route suspension by American Airlines due to Boeing’s delays? Let us know in the comments.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Reuters.

• 

  Boeing

  Stock Code:

  BA

  Date Founded:

  1916-07-15

  CEO:

  Dave Calhoun

  Headquarters Location:

  Chicago, USA

  Key Product Lines:

  Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787

  Business Type:

  Planemaker