Contract Issues With cargolux Apparently Serious Enough To Kill
Official Delivery
It's kinda like getting left at the altar... With little in the
way of actual detail to explain the problem, Boeing has called off
the much-ballyhooed celebration for the delivery of their 1st
B747-8... because the customer, Cargolux, is unhappy.
Just yesterday (Wednesday) Boeing exec Randy Tinseth (appointed
VP, Marketing, for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in April 2007)
blogged that, "While final preps are underway for Monday’s
first delivery of the 747-8 Freighter to our launch customer
Cargolux, there’s a bit of a party atmosphere around the
Everett factory right now. Monday will be packed with a lot of pomp
and circumstance as the Freighter flies away, but there’s
also something very special planned during an employee event on
Tuesday. A super top secret guest will be on hand to provide the
entertainment to everyone at the Everett site. I won’t spoil
the surprise—but let’s just say if you follow my taste
in music, this guest is right up my alley."
By late Thursday, though, the tune had changed and it wasn't a
happy one as Tinseth updated... "Just yesterday, I was telling you
about all the excitement leading up to first delivery of the 747-8
Freighter—including a surprise musical guest who’d be
performing for employees. It turns out, that party will have to
wait. We still need to work through some contractual issues with
our customer Cargolux, so first delivery won’t take place as
scheduled on Monday. Employee and media events for next week have
also been postponed. While this is disappointing to all of us here
at Boeing, we’re working with cargolux to resolve the issues.
They’ve been an incredible partner going back a long way. Two
decades ago, they became the first carrier worldwide to operate the
747-400 Freighter. It’s only fitting that they became the
launch customer of the new 747-8 Freighter.
The 747-8 Freighter is something to celebrate—and we plan
on doing just that very soon."
Another Boeing staffer, spokesman Jim Proulx, told local media
that, "We have unresolved issues between ourselves and cargolux...
We are working with our customer to determine a date for
delivery"
As noted, no official details are forthcoming but rumors suggest
that cargolux is unhappy with the airplane's ability to meet
certain performance guarantees, not exactly an unknown problem for
the first versions of a new airplane, but not insurmountable
either. We'll keep you informed but we think it prudent that you
don't throw away your part hats just yet...