AMERICAN Airlines () has suspended flights to Hong Kong, one of the temporary casualties of problems with Boeing's 787 dreamliner production that are affecting the airline's expansion plans, reports UK's The Loadstar.
Boeing's output of 787s slowed to a crawl last month as new problems surfaced after a number of issues this year, from defective titanium parts to problems with passenger and cargo doors.
For , it means a significant shortfall in widebody capacity for the coming season.
The airline was scheduled to receive fourteen 787-9 aircraft this year, but only one has been delivered so far and finds itself viewing the coming year with longhaul international flying at some 80 per cent of pre-Covid capacity - as opposed to the 89 per cent management had planned.
This is forcing the carrier to pare down its plans for 2022, with the Hong Kong market the most prominent victim. is also dropping Edinburgh and Shannon from its schedule for the time being, and it won't resume service to Dubrovnik and Prague this spring, as originally planned. Flights from Dallas to Beijing and from Seattle to Shanghai and to Bangalore are temporarily suspended.
In addition, is curtailing flights on some sectors: LA to Sydney goes back from daily to three flights a week; and frequencies are going to be reduced from Dallas (DFW) to Shanghai and Santiago; and from Miami to Buenos Aires.
The loss of the Hong Kong service means must drop this market altogether - feeding it through interline arrangements is not an option, as interlining has been drastically reduced in the pandemic, explained Roger Samways, vice president commercial, cargo.
He reckons this may change in the coming year on some sectors, however: 'We're already beginning to see it in one or two of our markets in Europe.'
Mr Samways is sad about the suspension of the Hong Kong flights. If had a widebody to spare, this would be among the top destinations, he said, but at this point, all the carrier's widebodies are in use.
SeaNews Turkey
Boeing's output of 787s slowed to a crawl last month as new problems surfaced after a number of issues this year, from defective titanium parts to problems with passenger and cargo doors.
For , it means a significant shortfall in widebody capacity for the coming season.
The airline was scheduled to receive fourteen 787-9 aircraft this year, but only one has been delivered so far and finds itself viewing the coming year with longhaul international flying at some 80 per cent of pre-Covid capacity - as opposed to the 89 per cent management had planned.
This is forcing the carrier to pare down its plans for 2022, with the Hong Kong market the most prominent victim. is also dropping Edinburgh and Shannon from its schedule for the time being, and it won't resume service to Dubrovnik and Prague this spring, as originally planned. Flights from Dallas to Beijing and from Seattle to Shanghai and to Bangalore are temporarily suspended.
In addition, is curtailing flights on some sectors: LA to Sydney goes back from daily to three flights a week; and frequencies are going to be reduced from Dallas (DFW) to Shanghai and Santiago; and from Miami to Buenos Aires.
The loss of the Hong Kong service means must drop this market altogether - feeding it through interline arrangements is not an option, as interlining has been drastically reduced in the pandemic, explained Roger Samways, vice president commercial, cargo.
He reckons this may change in the coming year on some sectors, however: 'We're already beginning to see it in one or two of our markets in Europe.'
Mr Samways is sad about the suspension of the Hong Kong flights. If had a widebody to spare, this would be among the top destinations, he said, but at this point, all the carrier's widebodies are in use.
SeaNews Turkey