Cathay Pacific (CX/CPA) has announced that it will defer deliveries of its brand-new Boeing 777-9X aircraft to “beyond 2025”, meaning the carrier will not receive the new 777X for at least the next five years.
The carrier was originally supposed to take delivery of its order for 21 aircraft between 2021 and 2024, however has decided to defer the orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting collapse in travel demand. This has been especially tough for Cathay, which had already faced significant issues pre-pandemic due to the Hong Kong protests, competition from other carriers and other business issues.
Some speculate that the carrier may cancel its entire order for the 777X in order to save money on delivery costs, and instead simply make do with its current fleet, which is still relatively young. Like other airlines, Cathay Pacific has been trying to defer deliveries of new aircraft orders. Fortunately for the airline, Boeing has been relatively cooperative in allowing deferrals during the pandemic, although some carriers are still scheduled to take delivery of new planes like the 777X on schedule.
Current Boeing 777X customers consist of All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines. However, throughout the COVID-19 aviation downturn, various customers have held conversations with Boeing about reducing or deferring deliveries, until global travel demand starts to. Cathay Pacific could swap some or even all of its orders for the Boeing 777X to the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner as the airline looks to both trim its financial commitments and right-size its fleet for the post-coronavirus world.
Cathay 777x
Cathay 777x Flight
Since the aircraft will not be delivered for at least another five years, this means that Cathay Pacific will be delaying its new first and business class products for at least five years as well. The carrier had originally planned to debut the new cabins on the 777-9, however, with the order deferred and no plans to retrofit existing aircraft, Cathay Pacific’s new premium cabins will be put on hold for now.
Cathay 777x Boeing
Featured image courtesy of Boeing