As Airbus shares hit a record high on Wednesday, January 22, the planemaker’s North American rival, Boeing, has just announced that certification of the beleaguered 737 MAX may not be obtained until June. As a result, while Airbus shares were heading in one direction, those of Boeing and also of many of its customers and suppliers fell on disclosure of this latest news.
Airbus shares peaked at €139.32 at 1215 GMT on Wednesday, while those of TUI Group and Norwegian fell by 5% and 1.7% respectively. A spokesman for Norwegian said: “We are continually taking steps to minimize any disruption to the journeys of our passengers during our summer 2020 program.” Back in December TUI had warned that if the 737 MAX was not flying and fully operational by May 2020, anything up to €400 million could be wiped off its annual earnings.
As far as Boeing’s suppliers were concerned, the share price of Safran and the U.K.’s Senior which make the engines for the 737 MAX with General Electric, also fell. British Airways parent firm IAG which confirmed a non-binding order for 200 MAX jets last June is “still progressing with Boeing”, Chief Financial Officer Steve Gunning told Reuters in Dublin. “I think we’re still confident Boeing will get this back in the sky,” Gunning said, adding that the 2024 delivery timeframe left IAG with some room for maneuver.
Another top 737 MAX buyer, Ryanair, declined to comment, though its chief marketing officer had said earlier this month that the Irish budget carrier had thought it was possible it might take delivery of up to ten 737 MAXs by April.
