18 March, 2024

Boeing’s woes delay massive Virgin Australia order

Virgin Australia has had to push back its aircraft delivery timeframe as Boeing’s troubles have had a knocked on effect to the Aussie carrier.

Boeing had to increase its production timeframe after the door plug on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 fell off mid-flight, meaning plane orders for Virgin, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Southwest will not arrive on time.

Virgin told its staffers on Friday that 31 of the MAX planes were delayed, despite the fact that it claimed in January that Boeing’s troubles would not impact the airline.

The Aussie airline ordered 13 737 MAX 8s, most of which were meant to arrive by the end of this year and four are currently in operation. It is now expected that only four MAX 8s will be delivered this year and the other six will come in 2025, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Virgin also ordered 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10s which were meant to start arriving next year, but this has been pushed back to FY26.

A Virgin Australia spokesperson confirmed the MAX 8 delay but did not comment on the delivery of the MAX 10s.

“We have been advised by Boeing there will be a delay to the delivery of some 737 MAX 8 aircraft, and we are working to minimise impacts to our schedule,” a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, a Boeing spokesperson said the manufacturer had been in touch with the airlines that were impacted.

“We are squarely focused on implementing changes to strengthen quality across our production system and taking the necessary time to deliver high-quality airplanes that meet all regulatory requirements. We continue to stay in close contact with our valued customers about these issues and our actions to address them,” a spokesperson said.

A recent audit of Boeing by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) saw the manufacturer fail more than one third of its tests.

The review examined 89 product audits of the Boeing’s production process and 13 product audits of Spirit AeroSystems – which makes the fuselage of the 737 MAX. Six of those audits got a pass, while the rest failed, the NYT said.

It was found that a mechanic at Spirit would use a key card to check a door seal, while there was another instance where Spirit mechanics would use soap to lubricate a door seal in the “fit up process”, per the Times.

Featured Image: Virgin Australia 737 MAX 8 – Virgin Australia

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