Boeing tells Virgin Australia it can’t deliver new jets on time

Virgin Australia must use 12-year-old Boeing 737-700s on its impending Cairns-Tokyo route after being told by the manufacturing giant delivery of its new jets is delayed.

Virgin Australia has been dealt a blow with Boeing confirming its order of new 737 Max-8s will be further delayed.

Virgin Australia must use smaller older jets on its new Cairns-Tokyo route after Boeing informed the airline the delivery date for new 737 Max 8s it has on order has been pushed back.

Originally due to start touching down in February and then April, Virgin Australia hoped the first 737-8 – as the aircraft are known – would land in time for the airline’s new Cairns-Tokyo (Haneda) services beginning on June 28.

But a Virgin Australia spokeswoman said it had now been alerted of a “short delay in the delivery” of the 737-8s that was beyond its control.

“As a result of the delay, we will operate our Cairns-Haneda (Tokyo) service using our existing Boeing 737-700 aircraft for a short period, starting from the inaugural flight on June 28, 2023,” the spokeswoman said.

“The good news is that Virgin Australia customers will not be impacted and our schedule of Japan services will continue as planned.”
The 12-years-old 737-700s have a longer range than the 737-800s which make up the bulk of Virgin’s fleet, making them capable of covering the 5864km distance from Cairns to Tokyo.

However the aircraft have 48 fewer seats than the Max 737-8s, accommodating a total of 128 passengers compared with the newer model’s 176.

Boeing has previously said the manufacturer regretted the impact the delay in deliveries was having on customers.

The problem was related to a “non-standard manufacturing process” used by Spirit AeroSystems during the installation of two fittings in the aft fuselage section of the Max 737-8s.

Although it was not considered a safety issue, US regulator the Federal Aviation Administration is not permitting any cut corners with the Max aircraft after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Following the tragedies, Boeing’s Max aircraft were grounded worldwide for almost two years while the manufacturer addressed FAA concerns.

Since returning to service in late 2020, the narrow-body jets have had a perfect safety record and carried millions of passengers.

New low-cost Australian carrier Bonza operates the 737-8s on its leisure routes out of Melbourne, the Sunshine Coast and other regional centres.

Virgin Australia has eight of the 737-8s on order, which were expected to all be delivered by the end of 2023.

Confirmation of the delivery delay came as Virgin Australia chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka announced she would be taking a few weeks of personal leave to mourn the death of husband Jason Gaudin.

In a LinkedIn post, Ms Hrdlicka said Jason had lost his long battle with a “rare, aggressive and ultimately incurable form of cancer”.

He was first diagnosed in 2019 and lived beyond the expectations of doctors, Ms Hrdlicka noted.

“For his sake I am grateful that the suffering is behind him,” she said.

The post prompted an outpouring of condolences, including from the “Virgin Australia family”.