DALLAS: American Airlines is warning Boeing that it could cancel some overdue orders for the grounded 737 MAX unless the plane maker helps line up new financing for the jets, according to people familiar with the discussions.
American’s stand comes as airlines are finding financing increasingly difficult and expensive as the coronavirus pandemic has crippled their operations.
American had 24 MAX jets before they were grounded in March 2019. It has orders for 76 more but wants Boeing to help arrange financing for 17 planes for which previous financing has or will soon expire, according to three people who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks between the companies.
If the companies can’t reach an agreement, American could use MAX financing that is about to expire to pay for jets from Boeing’s archrival Airbus, one of the people said.
Chicago-based Boeing said in a statement that it is working with customers during “an unprecedented time for our industry as airlines confront a steep drop in traffic,” but did not comment on the talks with American. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline declined to comment.
News of American’s threat to cancel some orders was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The situation underscores the strain facing airlines during the coronavirus pandemic. It has grown more difficult and expensive for them to finance planes. American’s negotiating stance doesn’t reflect a loss of confidence in the plane’s safety, the sources said.
The MAX was Boeing’s best-selling plane before crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people and led regulators around the world to ground all MAX jets.
The coronavirus pandemic has compounded Boeing’s problems by causing a sharp drop in air travel and a loss of interest in new planes. Nearly 40 percent of the world’s passenger jets are idled, according to aviation data supplier Cirium, as most airlines have more planes than they need until travel recovers.
That has made it more difficult to finance planes. United Airlines and Southwest Airlines found foreign lenders who agreed in April and May to buy MAX jets and lease them to the airlines, but those carriers are in stronger financial situations than American.
The 17 planes in dispute were supposed to have been delivered to American at least a year ago. That has given the airline the option of canceling the order without penalty and recovering its down payments now, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. The deliveries have been delayed while Boeing works to fix a flight-control system suspected of playing a role in the crashes.
Airlines have canceled orders for more than 400 MAX planes so far this year, and 320 are no longer certain enough to count in Boeing’s backlog. Some were dropped because the airline buyer ran into financial problems, while others were swapped for different Boeing planes. The company had taken 4,619 orders through May.
Air travel in the US fell about 95 percent from the beginning of March until mid-April. Traffic has recovered slightly since then, but remains down more than 70 percent from a year ago. With little revenue coming in, airlines are slashing spending and preparing to furlough thousands of workers this fall.
American has accepted $5.8 billion in federal aid to pay workers through Sept. 30, reached tentative agreement on a $4.75 billion federal loan, and lined up billions more in available cash from private lenders to survive the travel downturn.
American Airlines threatens to cancel some Boeing 737 MAX orders
https://arab.news/c4zpk
American Airlines threatens to cancel some Boeing 737 MAX orders
- American’s stand comes as airlines are finding financing increasingly difficult and expensive
- Airlines have canceled orders for more than 400 MAX planes so far this year
Oil surges as Iran conflict disrupts Middle Eastern supply flow
SINGAPORE: Oil prices surged by as much as 13 percent on Monday after shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz was disrupted by retaliatory Iranian attacks following initial bombing by Israel and the US that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Brent crude futures rose to as much as $82.37 a barrel, the highest since January 2025, before retreating to be up $5.41, or 7.4 percent, to $78.28 by 09:05 am Saudi time.
US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed to an intraday high of $75.33, up over 12 percent and the highest since June, though it later pared gains and was up $4.74, or 7.1 percent, at $71.76.
Both benchmarks jumped as a sustained exchange of counterattacks damaged tankers and sharply disrupted shipmentsin the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between Iran and Oman that connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
On a typical day, ships carrying oil equal to about one-fifth of global demand from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait sail through the Strait along with tankers hauling diesel and jet fuel and gasoline and other products from their refineries to major Asian markets including China and India.
“Markets are acknowledging the seriousness of the conflict, but are also signalling that, for now, this is a geopolitical shock, not a systemic crisis,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior analyst at Phillip Nova.
Prolonged effective closure of the Strait would push oil prices higher and cause shortages in supply to top importers China and India.
More than 200 vessels including oil and liquefied gas tankers have dropped anchor outside the Strait, shipping data showed on Sunday. Three tankers were damaged and one seafarer was killed in attacks on Sunday in Gulf waters.
Asian economies are assessing oil stockpile availability and ways to secure alternative supply. South Korea will offer petroleum from its stockpiles to local industries if supply disruptions are prolonged, while India is exploring alternative shipping routes.
PRICES PARE GAINS
Still, prices pared gains after the steep surge in early Asian trade, which analysts attributed to buyers already factoring a risk premium into prices in anticipation of the conflict.
Brent had risen over 19 percent this year until Friday’s close, while WTI was trading about 17 percent higher.
Amid the conflict, OPEC+ agreedon Sunday to a modest oil output boost of 206,000 barrels per day for April. Every OPEC+ producer is essentially producing at capacity except for Saudi Arabia, RBC Capital analyst Helima Croft said.
The International Energy Agency is in touch with major producers in the Middle East, director Fatih Birol said on Sunday. The energy watchdog coordinates the release of strategic petroleum reserves from developed countries during emergencies.
Globally, visible oil inventories stood at 7.827 million barrels, enough for 74 days of demand, which is near a historical median, Goldman Sachs wrote in a note.
Citi analysts expect Brent to trade between $80 and $90 a barrel this week amid the ongoing conflict.
“Our baseline view is that the Iranian leadership changes, or that the regime changes sufficiently as to stop the war within 1-2 weeks, or the US decides to de-escalate having seen a change in leadership and set back Iran's missiles and nuclear program over the same time frame,” Citi analysts led by Max Layton wrote.
Analysts are also warning retail gasoline prices in the US, the world’s biggest fuel consumer, may break above $3 a gallon because of the conflict, a potentially risky result for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of midterm elections this November.
US gasoline futures surged by as much as 9.1 percent to $2.496 a gallon, their highest since July 2024, and were last at $2.381 a gallon, up 4.2 percent.
