Boeing anticipates its 737 Max production rate will return to previously expected levels several years after the company restarts Max production, which could come within the next several months. Executives laid out that timeline during Boeing’s 29 January earnings call, signalling Max production rate will remain significantly less than rival Airbus’s A320-family production rate for the foreseeable future. “We’ve assumed we will resume 737 Max production at low rates in 2020… Then we expect to gradually increase to previously planned production rates over the next few years,” says Boeing chief financial officer Greg Smith. Boeing declines to say at which rate it intends to restart production or to provide timelines for rate increases. “When the supply chain has stability, we will make the next rate increase,” Smith says. Prior to the March 2019 grounding, Chicago-based Boeing produced 52 737s monthly and anticipated hiking production to 57 aircraft monthly in 2019, followed by possible further rate hikes. Airbus produced about 53 A320-family aircraft in 2019 and plans to boost production to 63 aircraft in 2021. After the grounding took effect, Boeing continued Max production, albeit at a reduced rate of 42 aircraft monthly. Finally, this month, with the certification timeline still uncertain, Boeing temporarily halted Max production. Boeing expects FAA certification will come by mid-year, meaning production could restart within several months, Boeing chief executive David Calhoun said recently. During the grounding Boeing had stockpiled produced Max at several US airfields. The company has not disclosed exactly how many Max are in storage. But the number stands to be more than 400 based on a 42-aircraft monthly production rate from March to December 2019. Once regulators do clear the Max to fly, Boeing faces the massive task of getting all those aircraft into service. “Return to service… will be a one-and-a-half-year programme based on the [aircraft] in inventory,” says Calhoun on 29 January.

Source: Cirium

Citing a significant drop in load factors, United Airlines has suspended some of its flights to China, which is reeling from the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV). "Due to a significant decline in demand for travel to China, we are suspending some flights between our hub cities and Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai," the airline states 28 January. "We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed." The Chicago-based airline says 24 flights have been removed from its schedule between 1 and 8 February. United will still operate flights between the USA and China during this temporary reduction. United operates 11 routes to China, Cirium schedules data shows: four to Shanghai Pudong International airport from San Francisco International, Newark Liberty International, Chicago O’Hare International and Los Angeles International; one route to Chengdu Shuangliu International from San Francisco; four routes to Beijing Capital International airport from Newark Liberty International, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington Dulles International; and two to Hong Kong from San Francisco and Newark. Delta Air Lines, which operate seven routes to China, tells Cirium, "We are monitoring the situation, but don’t have anything to announce at this time." The Atlanta-based airline operates routes to Shanghai Pudong from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airport, Los Angeles, Seattle Tacoma International, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International and Las Vegas McCarran International. Delta also operates routes to Beijing from Detroit and Seattle. American Airlines, which operates six routes to China, did not disclose to Cirium any plans to suspend flights to China. Like many other airlines that operate routes to China, American has expanded its travel waiver for customers who have already booked flights. The Dallas-based airline operates two routes each to Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong from Dallas/Fort Worth International and Los Angeles.

Source: Cirium

Hong Kong’s four main carriers will halve their services into Mainland China, as part of special arrangements made in light of a novel coronavirus outbreak in China. The Hong Kong government said in a 28 January press briefing that the carriers — Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon, Hong Kong Express, as well as Hong Kong Airlines (HKA) — will cut capacity to 24 points in Mainland China. Service frequency between Hong Kong and these points will go from about 480 flights weekly, to about 240 flights from 30 January, until further notice. Hong Kong has already moved to suspend flights between Hong Kong and Hubei province since 24 January. The coronavirus outbreak originated from Wuhan city, the capital of Hubei province. The move to reduce the number of flights to Mainland China comes as part of a broader move by the Hong Kong authorities to “reduce the risk” of the coronavirus outbreak from spreading. Cathay and Cathay Dragon say in a separate media release that the capacity reduction will take place till the end of March. “We are actively reviewing our flight schedules at the moment and will be updating them progressively over the next 48 hours,” the carriers state. Cirium schedules data indicates that Cathay and Cathay Dragon jointly fly to 22 cities from Hong Kong. Meanwhile, HKA says its cancellations will last till 11 February. The service cuts will affect 10 points on its Mainland China network, including destinations such as Haikou, Chengdu and Tianjin. The carrier flies to 11 points in Mainland China, schedules data reveals. As for HK Express, it only flies to Ningbo. The carrier did not state if it was fully suspending the route, or reducing its frequency. According to Chinese state media, as of 29 January, the death toll in China from the outbreak hit 132, with the number of confirmed cases to be more than 5,900. Apart from China, other countries affected by the outbreak include Singapore, Australia, Canada, the USA, France, Japan and Thailand. Sri Lanka is the latest country to report a case. In the wake of the outbreak, the city of Wuhan, which is the epicentre of the outbreak, has been placed on an indefinite lockdown, with all transport links in and out of the city — including its airport and train stations — shut off. At least 10 other cities have been placed on similar lockdown measures.

Source: Cirium