China Southern Airlines (ZNH) has significantly changed its plans for deliveries of Boeing
737 MAX aircraft that were supposed to join the airline through 2024.
The largest Chinese carrier decided to remove 100 Boeing 737 MAX planes from its near-term
delivery plan, arguing that the delivery timetable was uncertain, Bloomberg reported on May 18,
2022.
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And in today's video, we are going to talk about “Big Boeing 737 MAX Changes!”
So without any further ado, Let's begin.
China Southern Chairman Ma Xulun told investors last week that the airline plans to receive
30 aircraft in 2022, 36 in 2023, and 12 in 2024, excluding the MAX.
The airline said in its 2021 Annual Results, released on March 30 that it planned to add
181 new aircraft between now and 2024, including 103 Boeing B737 MAX.
China’s domestic air traffic has plunged due to lockdowns in Shanghai and surrounding
cities.
Shanghai-based China Eastern said passenger numbers collapsed 90.7% in April year on year,
while Shanghai International Airport saw passenger numbers down 98.9% in the same period.
Boeing has 4,137 unfilled 737 MAX orders, with 724 attributed to 'unidentified customers'.
CSA has a fleet of 213 Boeing 737s, of which 24 are Max 8s.
Its total fleet numbers 640 aircraft, of which there are 297 Airbus A320 family aircraft.
While major aviation regulators around the world, including the FAA and EASA, have cleared
the MAX to return, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has yet to apply its final
stamp of approval.
Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West said last week that Chinese airlines had conducted
operational readiness flights and trained pilots in preparation for MAX deliveries before
COVID-19 outbreaks led to a plunge in air traffic.
"So they were showing every indication that they want to get these back in the air," he
said.
"When it becomes more clear on what's happening with COVID protocols and restrictions, we
expect that to just continue and then get the return to service and then we'll (be)
allowed to deliver."
Boeing has around 140 B737 MAX aircraft awaiting delivery to Chinese customers, but with bicycles
barely moving in China, it's unlikely many of those will move anytime soon.
China Southern has close to 30% of its fleet on the inactive list, so it won't be in a
rush to add more to its parking lot.
In December 2021, the CAAC issued an airworthiness directive, essentially advising that when
all the hardware and software changes are applied and pilots are retrained on the updated
systems, the MAX can return.
In January, CSA completed a three-and-a-half-hour test flight with one of its 737 MAX aircraft,
tracking out and back from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
Currently, China Southern Airlines (ZNH) is one of the largest Boeing 737 Family aircraft
operators across China.
The airline has 26 Boeing 737-700s, 163 737-800s, and 24 grounded 737 MAX 8 aircraft in its
fleet.
With the grounding of 737 MAX due to the lion Air Flight 610 crash on October 29’ 2018,
the Ethiopian flight 302 crash on March 10, 2019, and more recently the Boeing 787 manufacturing
defects and the Boeing 777X certification delays.
It all adding more and more pressure onto Boeing and the result of all of this are causing
customer order cancellation for their aircraft, meaning most and switching to one of Boeing’s
main competitors, Airbus.
In 2021, Airbus delivered 611 aircraft and won the deliveries crown for the third year
in a row.
Deliveries were up from 566 in 2020 but remain well below the company’s all-time record
high of 863 shipments in 2019.
In January 2022, Boeing delivered 32 jets, including 29 737s, two 767s, and one 777.
The 737 programs are currently producing at a rate of 26 per month, up from 19 by the
end of October 2021, and continue to progress toward a production rate of 31 per month.
Boeing has not yet announced any plans for further increases except that the rate will
be raised as market demand allows.
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