(Reuters) – Boeing Co said Monday that 118 orders for its 777X widebody aircraft under development are now not seen as strong under accounting rules that it needs to regularly assess their operational capability, leaving it with 191 hard orders for the model.
Boeing last week announced a cost of $ 6.5 billion on the 777X partly due to weaker-than-expected demand for the model. They also pushed their service back a year to the end of 2023 in anticipation of a longer and more cost-effective verification process.
“Delays in the 737 MAX and 777X programs have led to, and could continue to lead to, the right of customers to suspend orders and or replace orders with other Boeing aircraft,” the manufacturer said in a statement. management filing.
Buyers for the 777X include Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, Singapore Airlines Ltd, ANA Holdings Inc and Lufthansa.
Boeing lists 350 orders on its website, though some customers have indicated that they would like to reduce their orders or push back delivery dates while they wait. engagement in international travel demand due to coronavirus pandemic.
At the end of 2019, Boeing had listed 309 of the 777X orders as a strong group, meaning it was confident that buyers still expected to buy a lot of planes and could fund the purchase .
Boeing Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith said last week on an employment call that the company’s order backlog had fallen in the fourth quarter of 2020 due to its accounting status assessment, including the revised chart for the 777X.
Reporting with Jamie Freed in Sydney; Edited by Tom Hogue