Boeing Orders To Be Cancelled?

Copa Airlines is currently evaluating its future portfolio, which includes Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, amid ongoing delays.

The carrier based in Panama is in a position where the likelihood of acting on more than a dozen options that would result in orders for the 737-10 remains unlikely as each day passes.

The airline’s Chief Executive, Pedro Heilbron, spoke with Flightglobal and said that taking the 737-10 was not a guaranteed move at this stage, with the 737-8 and 737-9 two models it is delighted with.

For Copa Airlines, and like many other airlines, there’s a great desire not to complicate the fleet further than necessary. Adding more variants, even if within the same overall aircraft family, does have the ability to do this.

Copa Airlines’ order for the 737-10 has been a long-standing one, a commitment made at the 2017 Paris Air Show; however, eight years later, the variant remains uncertified.

The Impact Of Boeing Delays

While Copa Airlines analyses the future of its fleet, which may include a possible move to cancel orders in favour of streamlining, there can be several reasons for such a decision.

However, for Copa Airlines and other customers of the Boeing 737 MAX program, and its variants more specifically, the persistent delays in their certification do play a role in decision-making.

The most recent hopes would’ve seen approval for these two remaining variants by the end of the 2025 calendar year, allowing for the delivery of the long-awaited first units, followed by the first scheduled passenger flights.

However, according to the latest reports, the 737 MAX variants that remain uncertified will not be approved until 2026 at the earliest, resulting in further delays for airlines as they await delivery of these types.

For airlines looking to leverage these variants for their future operations, the colossal delays can evoke a range of decisions. Still, arguably the biggest is the decision to walk away from the variant they initially ordered in favour of other programs or other approved aircraft within the family.

While Copa Airlines aims to ensure fleet commonality, the inability to acquire these planes for so many years has given it more time to develop and formulate strategies moving forward.

As a result, while no decision has been set in stone on taking on the 737-10s, per the airline’s Chief Executive, it would appear more than likely that fleet commonality will be the priority and sticking with variants the business already knows and can get its hands on now will be the direction.