The Boeing Advantage

CEB sees MAX as its Next Plane, As Pratt & Whitney drags Airbus down

7 October 2023

Low cost carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) has seen Boeing 737 Max planes to be their next narrow-body fleet if Airbus does not help fix it engine manufacturer Pratt and Whitney (P&W) for their troubled GTF new engine option (neo) powered planes, its executive said.

According to airline CEO Mike Szucs, Boeing is firmly in the running because of the Pratt & Whitney engine issues currently impacting many Airbus aircraft, which has impacted the airline industry in general. 

"Buying Boeings could help the carrier diversify risk, so we haven't got all our eggs in one basket."

CEB will issue a request for proposal (RFP) to both Airbus and Boeing next week as it plans to acquire more than 100 aircraft in what it calls the largest narrow-body aircraft order to ever come out of the Philippines.

"This is an extremely large order for Cebu Pacific certainly, but even in the Philippines it's by far the largest order I think that will ever be placed," Szucs said. 

"In the coming week or two, we will formally launch the request for proposal and may the best man win. It will be one or the other; we're not going to split it between two. It could be that we order a whole load of new Airbuses again, or it could be we order a whole load of Boeings. We would think three to six months would be the whole (RFP) process." he said.

The choice for the next fleet shall be made somewhere between January and February next year, which is enough time for it to deliver the first aircraft on order by 2026.

"Frankly, we will look at the right outcome financially and operationally, but both products are really good. The B737 MAX is an excellent product [...] The A320 is an excellent product as well. That's why we're ambivalent in that sense. It will be the right financial answer so that we can pass on the best ticket prices for our paying passengers," he added.

The CEO said it is unlikely for them to extend operating leases of their P&W powered neo planes that will soon be grounded to address manufacturing defects, even if compensation is given to them by the engine maker. 

While PW1000G engines offer lower fuel consumption and higher efficiency compared to previous generations, they have faced various logistical problems since their entry into service in 2017.

Massive delay in remedial works to affected engines produced between 2015 to 2021 has been particularly noticeable recently. As a result of supply chain issues and delays in maintenance and engine overhaul work, many operators have been forced to ground aircraft, leading to disruptions in their operations.

CEB said they will gladly give back the plane to its lessors beginning 2026 when its leases start to expire, rather than keep them on longer cue time for engine repair works to be done. 

Nine of the fourteen 320Ns and all of its A321Ns engines are affected by the manufacturing flaw.

The airline said it was already notified by Pratt & Whitney parent Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) that a number of its A320neo and A321neo aircraft will go out-of-service for engine inspections beginning 2024.

"We expect that this will affect our fleet availability in 2024," the airline said as it flagged a lower-than-anticipated fleet growth next year.  

The low-cost carrier presently operates an all-Airbus fleet comprising twenty-one A320-200s, fourteen A320-200Ns, seven A321-200s, eleven A321-200NXs, three A330-300s, and five A330-900Ns.

The airline has pending 44 aircraft on order at Airbus of various operating type still to be delivered.