Leisure giant TUI Group is has rejigged Boeing 737 Max deliveries to reduce the intake over the next few years, under a broad agreement with the airframer to compensate for the type’s grounding.
TUI Group says it has revised the delivery schedule for the 61 Max jets on order, postponing the arrivals by an average of two years.
Fewer than half of the originally-planned 737 Max jets will be delivered to TUI over the next two years, the company states.
It adds that the changes will reduce aircraft investments and financing demands as well as enabling “more flexible” fleet planning during the recovery from the coronavirus crisis.
TUI says it intends to reduce the fleet of its five European airlines – in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and the UK – to address the crisis impact.
The company has not disclosed full details of the compensation package which will be realised over the next two years.
But it says it covers a “significant portion” of the financial impact and credits which the company can put towards future aircraft orders.
“We have reached a fair agreement that strengthens our long-standing relationship with Boeing,” says chief executive Fritz Joussen.
The new delivery schedule allows the company to “rapidly adapt” its fleet growth, he adds, and supports the fleet-reduction plan for its constituent airlines.
TUI Group has 15 737 Max jets in its fleet, all of which have been grounded since March 2019. Eight more had been scheduled for delivery last year.
