Qantas said today the three-month delay of the 787 Dreamliner announced by Boeing would now see Jetstar not take delivery of its first B787 before May 2009.
The Chief Executive Officer of Qantas, Geoff Dixon said that while the delay would affect Jestar's international expansion in the short term, there would no effect on the Qantas Group's overall growth strategy and no impact on Qantas Group earnings.
He said Qantas would finalise its contingency plans to mitigate against the delay once a revised delivery schedule was received from Boeing, which was expected within the next few weeks.
"In the meantime, we will look at a range of options including revised retirement dates for some of our aircraft, re-allocating existing capacity and potential schedule adjustments," Dixon said.
He said Qantas' contractual arrangements with Boeing provided for the ability to claim liquidated damages in certain circumstances.
"We will be discussing the issue of liquidated damages with Boeing in the coming weeks," Dixon said.
The Qantas Group's commitment to the B787 extends to 115 aircraft, with 65 firm orders, 20 options and 30 purchase rights. The first 15 B787s delivered to the Qantas Group will be operated by Jetstar on international routes.
Shares in Qantas touched a 52-week low of $4.59 on Wednesday after a broker downgraded the stock to a ‘sell' recommendation.
On Thursday, shares closed up 16 cents at $4.81.
