Panama’s Copa Airlines has cut four destinations from its network and again pushed back fleet growth plans due to a shortage of new jets from Boeing.

“Due to Boeing delivery delays, the arrival of our last two aircraft of the year was postponed by a few months,” Copa chief executive Pedro Heilbron said on 21 November during the airline’s third-quarter earnings call. “We are temporarily pulling out of four markets… The reason we are doing that is also tied to aircraft deliveries.”

The delivery delays come as no surprise, as Boeing’s 737 production was shut down for nearly eight weeks until early November due to a machinists’ strike. The strike was among several production disruptions that kept Boeing from hitting its delivery targets this year.

copa Airlines boeing 737 Max

As an all-737 operator, Copa’s ability to achieve its business objectives depends heavily on the success of the US manufacturer.

Heilbron says Copa received one 737 Max 8 – its first of the type – from Boeing during the third quarter and that it ended the period with 110 jets in its fleet, including the single Max 8, 32 737 Max 9s, 67 737-800s, nine 737-700s and one 737-800 Freighter.

Heilbron expects Copa will receive another two jets – both Max 8s – from Boeing before year end. An updated schedule from Boeing calls for Copa to receive another 11 Max 8s in 2025. If Boeing makes good on that schedule, Copa expects it will end next year with 123 jets in its fleet.

But the plan is far from certain. “This delivery schedule has production ramp up assumptions that will need to materialise, so actual aircraft deliveries could change,” Heilbron says.

He adds that aircraft shortages recently prompted Copa to stop flying to four destinations: Tulum International in Mexico, Felipe Angeles International near Mexico City, Armenia in Colombia and Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.

“We should be back before the end of 2025,” Heilbron says of those airports.

Fleet troubles aside, Copa turned a $146 million profit in the third quarter, down 22% year on year, with $855 million in operating revenue, down 1.5% from its revenue in the third quarter last year.

The company’s third-quarter results were also impacted by halting flights this year to Venezuela, reportedly due to diplomatic tension and domestic-Venezuelan unrest. Those flights have not yet resumed.





Source link

Posted in
Limousine
Related Posts
Limousine Comments are Closed

Plan the perfect NYC Memorial Day weekend

Pack only what you need and avoid overpacking to streamline the check-in and security screening…

News Comments are Closed

LA’s worst traffic areas and how to avoid them

Consider using alternative routes, such as Sepulveda Boulevard, which runs parallel to the 405 in…

ATR 72’s brake not engaged before it rolled and hit power unit

Investigators are probing an accident at Helsinki in which an ATR 72-500 was damaged after…

Peruvian ministers discuss Gripen acquisition on official visit to Sweden | News

Senior government officials from Peru discussed the possibility of acquiring the latest Gripen E/F fighter…

Luxair on track for initial E195-E2 delivery before year-end

Luxair is confident of commencing initial Embraer 195-E2 operations in January next year, in line…

US government approves $1.85bn F-35 sustainment package for Poland and $861m C-17 support deal for UK RAF

The US government has cleared sustainment packages for Poland’s Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters and the…

UK’s One Air to take first 777F under operating lease

UK-based cargo carrier One Air is introducing its initial Boeing 777 freighter, one of a…

How is aviation tackling its contrails of concern? | Analysis

There is a cruel irony that one of the most visible parts of aviation’s impact…

Why military conversions are big business for executive jet producers | Analysis

With their long-endurance performance, plentiful onboard power and ability to carry a broad variety of…

Industry eyes greener future despite hydrogen adoption delay | Analysis

Any organisation funding the research and technology (R&T) activities necessary for aviation’s future faces a…

How will the UK wield its buying power as defence spending rises? | Analysis

The UK government’s commitment ­earlier this year to significantly boost defence spending over the coming…

Ground-vibration tests completed on fully-substituted MC-21

United Aircraft has completed ground-vibration testing of the import-substituted Yakovlev MC-21 prototype, moving the twinjet…

Post a comment

Your email address will not be published.