MAX order Restructured: 25 MAX10 from Mid 2023 - No MAX8

[AIRwin]

Virgin Australia Group announces changes to its Boeing 737 MAX order:

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20190430/pdf/444n6m9388z77y.pdf

 

[Mogul]

Finally a good move by VA. I wonder if forward bookings had dropped with the expectation that they would still be receiving their MAX's at the end of this year.

 

[AIRwin]

I wonder if forward bookings had dropped with the expectation that they would still be receiving their MAX's at the end of this year.

And will it be impacted as people may still associate "Max 10" due to the similar name?

 

[OATEK]

And will it be impacted as people may still associate "Max 10" due to the similar name?

Isn't the MAX 10 just a stretched version of the MAX 8?

 

[Mogul]

And will it be impacted as people may still associate "Max 10" due to the similar name?

First delivery not till mid 2021, everyone would have forgotten about the recent incidents, not only that one would hope for 2 years free of any further issues.

 

[suze2000]

Is that like when the rebranded the forever-crashing MD-11 as a DC-10 to take the stink off? (I think I have the aircraft names right???)

I still wouldn't want to get in a Max10 unless it's a new plane.

 

[straitman]

Is that like when the rebranded the forever-crashing MD-11 as a DC-10 to take the stink off? (I think I have the aircraft names right???)

I still wouldn't want to get in a Max10 unless it's a new plane.

Wrong way around though.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American three-engine medium- to long-range wide-body jet airliner, manufactured by McDonnell Douglas and, later, by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Based on the DC-10, it features a stretched fuselage, increased wingspan with winglets, refined airfoils on the wing and smaller tailplane, new engines and increased use of composite materials. Two of its engines are mounted on underwing pylons and a third engine at the base of the vertical stabilizer. It also features a glass coughpit that decreases the flight deck crew to two from the three required on the DC-10 by eliminating the need for a flight engineer.

 

[Pleb Status]

It was announced this morning that VA will delay delivery of the 737MAX8 until 2025. The 737MAX10 should still be arriving from mid 2021.

It would appear that this decision is more for capital management rather than safety. A couple of crash free years will not hurt however.

For the VA customer, the 737MAX10 is the more interesting of the two as hopefully a new regional J seat will be introduced in this aircraft.

Virgin Australia pushes back Boeing 737 MAX order

Virgin Australia has deferred delivery of the first jets in an order of 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft amid ongoing uncertainty around the scandal-plagued plane.

www.watoday.com.au

Edit: This was the thread OP but reads a bit odd now since threads have been merged...

 

[AviatorInsight]

Clearly Boeing has a challenge ahead of them to re-earn the trust of the flying public. This delay allows time for the broader industry to regain confidence in the MAX series of aircraft. That being said, they still reserve the right the defer the order should it become apparent that a high level of safety cannot be achieved from the MAX re-certification process, and in consultation with Boeing and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

Virgin is working closely with Boeing to reintroduce the MAX and has also acquired a Full Flight Simulator dedicated to pilot training.

 

[AviatorInsight]

It would appear that this decision is more for capital management rather than safety. A couple of crash free years will not hurt however.

For the VA customer, the 737MAX10 is the more interesting of the two as hopefully a new regional J seat will be introduced in this aircraft.

In the short term, the change to the MAX deliveries, results in a significant deferral of capital expenditure, and in the long term, the restructured order lets VA benefit from the superior economics of the new MAX 10 aircraft which has greater seating capacity, a lower fuel burn and hopefully a new J seat .

 

[HS-TQE]

I wonder what's going to happen to the TT 737 replacement program.

Will they remain a hybrid 737/A320 operator for the next 2 years, which is less than ideal from a LCC perspective.

Or will VA mainline reduce their fleet size (whilst offloading some mainline flying over to VA regional (XR)'s A320s).

 

[Berlin]

First delivery not till mid 2021, everyone would have forgotten about the recent incidents, not only that one would hope for 2 years free of any further issues.

As long as there's not a third one crashing that is... Given that it becomes more and more clear now that the aircraft is a faulty design at its core and just manages to fly thanks to some software patch, I'll avoid setting foot on one like the plague. But the majority of the public will most likely have forgotten all about it in a few months already, yet alone 2-3 years time.

 

[Mogul]

As long as there's not a third one crashing that is... Given that it becomes more and more clear now that the aircraft is a faulty design at its core and just manages to fly thanks to some software patch, I'll avoid setting foot on one like the plague. But the majority of the public will most likely have forgotten all about it in a few months already, yet alone 2-3 years time.

If there is another crash I think that would be the end of the 737 fullstop.

 

[Saab34]

Going to be a lot of MAX10s buzzing around soon. That’s a fairly big increase and going to be a quarter of the fleet.

I’d imagine it’s a matter of when not if, when QF announces them also.

 

[Berlin]

I’d imagine it’s a matter of when not if, when QF announces them also.

Are you serious, after all this? I just hope Qantas is wise and does a big shopping trip to Toulouse. Package up a whole lot nice A350s and A320s and let Boeing sort their mess for a while.

 

[Mogul]

Reading between the lines maybe VA aren't happy with the software fix at this point in time.

 

[AviatorInsight]

I wonder what's going to happen to the TT 737 replacement program.

Will they remain a hybrid 737/A320 operator for the next 2 years, which is less than ideal from a LCC perspective.

Or will VA mainline reduce their fleet size (whilst offloading some mainline flying over to VA regional (XR)'s A320s).

Virgin had already planned for Tigerair to be operating in a dual-fleet environment until the end of calendar year 2021.

Tigerair has already developed a network and resourcing plan which supports a dual-fleet scenario for an extended period, and Virgin will continue to look for ways to optimise and gain efficiencies across its operations.

 

[Saab34]

Are you serious, after all this? I just hope Qantas is wise and does a big shopping trip to Toulouse. Package up a whole lot nice A350s and A320s and let Boeing sort their mess for a while.

Swapping out it’s 100 odd 737 fleet for another type just isn’t going to happen. The cost to convert would be astronomical.

A350 for long haul for both QF and VA yes please!

 

[oz_mark]

Swapping out it’s 100 odd 737 fleet for another type just isn’t going to happen. The cost to convert would be astronomical.

This thinking is why we're stuck with the MAXs.

 

[Berlin]

Swapping out it’s 100 odd 737 fleet for another type just isn’t going to happen. The cost to convert would be astronomical.

Depends on how different a type the Max ends up to be, doesn’t it? Plus, Qantas group has lots of A320s at Jettrash already so who knows.