© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Airbus logo is seen at Milipol Paris, the global exhibition dedicated to national security, in Villepinte, near Paris, France, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo
By Tim Hepher and Rajesh Kumar Singh
DUBLIN/CHICAGO (Reuters) -United Airlines has approached Airbus to buy more A321neo planes to fill a potential gap left by the delayed Boeing (NYSE:) 737 MAX 10, in a trade-off that is likely to ease the deadlock over a long-separate deal. delayed. orders for larger planes, industry sources said.
United CEO Scott Kirby (NYSE:) recently flew to Toulouse to sound out the planemaker about a possible quid-quo-pro deal after a mid-air emergency on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 raised new doubts about the certification of the already delayed MAX 10, they said.
“United Airlines has been in talks with Airbus about possible alternatives to the MAX 10 order. To my knowledge, no agreement has been reached,” said a person familiar with the discussions.
Talks are at an early stage and there is no guarantee of a deal, the sources said.
Airbus and United Airlines declined to comment.
Kirby's previously unreported trip to Toulouse is the latest twist in a widening crisis engulfing Boeing as the planemaker seeks to reassure the public and regulators about production quality and safety. while avoiding key orders falling apart.
Last week, Kirby called the partial grounding of the MAX 9 “the straw that broke the camel's back” following delays in certification of the MAX 10, the largest member of an aircraft family marred by an earlier safety crisis caused by two fatal accidents.
United has not canceled any of the 277 MAX 10 planes it has on order, but has removed them from its internal plans, Kirby told reporters last week, leaving questions about how it would fill the void at a time when rival Airbus is very busy. exhausted. .
Bloomberg News reported on Friday that Airbus was trying to buy back A321neo positions in the aircraft market so it could build a bid in case there was a vacancy.
Trade publication Air Insight reported that Airbus and United were in talks.
Any agreement between United and Airbus would depend on the low availability of the A321neo, which is the most in-demand aircraft in its category, and the status of United's contract with Boeing, which is expected to be the subject of intense discussions.
Kirby said last week that United had not canceled the MAX 10s, but added: “Boeing will not be able to meet its contractual deliveries on at least many of those planes and let's leave it at that.”
Signs of a possible deal with Airbus have raised “concern” at Boeing, a senior industry source said.
But the planemaker can't for now provide the clarity that United and others want about the MAX 10 because of questions about the certification timeline.
Boeing, which has pledged to address quality issues that may have caused a door plug on a MAX 9 to come off and led to its partial suspension, declined to comment on trade discussions.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said in a letter to staff Friday that he was “deeply sorry for the significant disruption and frustration to our customers.”
United resumed MAX 9 flights on Saturday.
A350 DELIVERIES
The talks come at a time when Airbus has a firm grip on the hottest part of the aircraft market, where its 240-seat A321neo has a strong lead over the upcoming MAX 10.
By contrast, it has failed to deliver a single of its largest A350 jets to United after winning a sale in 2010, after a subsequent merger between United and long-time Boeing customer Continental Airlines triggered a review.
Orders have been progressively delayed until around 2030.
Industry sources said both sides tentatively agreed that any deal for the A321neo planes would overhaul the 45 A350s United has on order and at least include a firmer timeline for deliveries after several postponements by the Chicago-based airline.
United Chief Financial Officer Michael Leskinen said last week that it was looking to begin taking deliveries of A350s early in the next decade to replace aging Boeing 777s.
United has long been a crucial battleground as Airbus challenged Boeing for a share of its domestic market and eventually overtook it as the world's largest manufacturer.
In 1992, Airbus won an A320 order that broke United's dependence on Boeing, with whom United shares corporate roots.
The unexpected deal triggered a rethink that contributed to the launch of the MAX's predecessor, the best-selling 737NG.
Now, United's urgent need for planes is shaping up to be a milestone in the problems facing its successor, the MAX.
The latest MAX crisis and broader questions about the state of the aircraft market duopoly are expected to dominate an annual meeting of aviation financiers in Dublin starting Monday.
