Boeings new 747-8 jumbo jet will enter service in mid-October, a month later than planned, after initial customer Cargolux International SA resolved a fuel-burn dispute with engine-maker General Electric Co. (GE)
Cargolux rejected delivery of the first two 747-8 freighters because of a 2.7 percent shortfall in fuel-efficiency guarantees, said Akbar Al-Baker, chief executive officer of Cargolux investor Qatar Airways Ltd. The carrier made the decision three days before it was to accept the planes, during a Sept. 16 board meeting that was Al-Baker’s first after Qatar Airways took a 35 percent stake in June.
“Unfortunately, the management of Cargolux did not take the action they should have taken during the process of the aircraft acceptance,” Al-Baker said yesterday as he prepared to pick up a 777 at Boeing’s wide-body jet plant in Everett, Washington. “As we sit on the board of Cargolux, we have full right to object if we find something is not fair as far as Cargolux is concerned.”
The GEnx engine was underperforming, “and this issue was very strongly raised and was appreciated by the board,” he said. The problem has been resolved with GE, and the delivery will now occur around Oct. 12, pending another board meeting on Oct. 7, Al-Baker said. Luxembourg-based Cargolux confirmed the “tentative agreement” in a statement today.