Continental defers aircraft delivery
Continental Airlines has deferred the delivery of 36 aircraft, blaming the ‘continued weakness in the airline industry’.
The 36 Boeing 737 aircraft were originally scheduled for delivery in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The aircraft manufacturer has reached a deal with Continental to cover any ‘fair and reasonable’ costs and the aircraft are now expected to be delivered in 2008.
Continental chairman and chief executive Gordon Bethune said: “We can’t determine our need for additional airplanes until we see some return on the capital we’ve invested in our existing fleet of new airplanes and are confident we have a competitive long-term cost structure.”
Continental will still receive four 737-800 aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2003 and 12 737-800 aircraft in 2004.
A spokesperson for Boeing told TravelMole: “It is well known that since the events of 9/11 the larger US network carriers have posted significant loses in the last 21 months – as have European carriers. This has resulted in an over capacity of seats in the market.
“The fact that Continental has decided to publicly announce these decisions does not signal a significant departure from the state of the industry.”
Continental operated 358 aircraft in June 2003, down from 374 aircraft in June 2002, and 377 aircraft in June 2001. The carrier says it expects its fleet to further shrink to 354 aircraft by June 2004 and 348 aircraft by June 2005.
Continental announces its second quarter results on Thursday.
Read our previous stories:
23-April-2003 Continental signs up to Galileo programme
20-March-2003 Continental to axe 1,200 jobs
18-Feb-2003 Continental increases fares to cover fuel costs
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