PARTING SHOT

摘要

Over the past month, 737 MAX operators have pushed cancellations further out into the summer and beyond as Boeing works with US regulators to modify software related to the aircraft’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which is suspected to have played a role in two crashes involving the MAX 8. Even though MAX series aircraft could take to the skies again within the next few months, speakers on a conversion panel at Cargo Facts Asia last month expect reverberations to restrain 737 NG conversions for the next one to three years. With some 376 MAX aircraft parked through summer, carriers are racing to minimize schedule interruptions by introducing alternative sources of lift, and at least some of the aircraft being brought in were previously slated for conversion. Bob Convey, SVP Sales & Marketing, AEI, lamented that lease extensions for at least two 737-800s caused him to lose a conversion deal. In some cases, the limited number of 737 NGs available to replace the MAX 8s has prompted carriers to add airframes larger than the 737. Zach Young, Sales Director at 321 Precision Conversions said that induction dates for the conversion of five 757s have been pushed back.