American's stand comes as airlines are finding financing increasingly difficult and expensive as the coronavirus pandemic has crippled their operations.
American had 24 Max jets before they were grounded in
If the companies can't reach an agreement, American could use Max financing that is about to expire to pay for jets from
News of American’s threat to cancel some orders was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The situation underscores the strain facing airlines during the coronavirus pandemic. It has grown more difficult and expensive for them to finance planes. American’s negotiating stance doesn’t reflect a loss of confidence in the plane’s safety, the sources said.
The Max was
The coronavirus pandemic has compounded Boeing’s problems by causing a sharp drop in air travel and a loss of interest in new planes. Nearly 40% of the world’s passenger jets are idled, according to aviation data supplier Cirium, as most airlines have more planes than they need until travel recovers.
That has made it more difficult to finance planes.
The 17 planes in dispute were supposed to have been delivered to American at least a year ago. That has given the airline the option of canceling the order without penalty and recovering its down payments now, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. The deliveries have been delayed while
Airlines have canceled orders for more than 400 Max planes so far this year, and 320 are no longer certain enough to count in
Air travel in the
American has accepted
David Koenig can be reached at www.twitter.com/airlinewriter
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