Star Alliance member Air Canada expects to take its final batch of 777s later than originally scheduled due to the current strike at Boeing, but says it will "manage through" the challenge.
"They'll come late," Air Canada president and CEO Montie Brewer confirmed today at CIBC World Markets' 7th Annual Institutional Investor Conference.
He adds that Boeing has given "some initial indication of day-to-day, but obviously they don't really know until the strike ends and they can understand how the supply chains and the whole process can begin back up again. So it's coming late and we'll manage through it."
According to Flight's ACAS database, Air Canada has outstanding orders with the airframer for three more 777-300ERs.
Brewer says he loves the 777, its interior "and the fact that it's the most efficient widebody in the industry".
Meanwhile, though it will be years before Air Canada receives its first Boeing 787, the carrier is confident the delayed twinjet will play a major role in its fuel reduction effort.
Air Canada, which holds the largest 787 orderbook of any North American carrier, "can't wait for the airplane to come" as it will provide dramatic cost savings in a high fuel-cost environment, says Brewer.
The carrier was originally scheduled to receive its first 787 in 2010, but is now planning for a two year delay.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
