Boeing airplane deliveries plummet during strike

One month after the start of a Machinists union strike, the Boeing Co. reported a nosedive in deliveries of commercial aircraft but still got 10 planes to customers after the walkout.

Chicago-based Boeing reported on Friday that 84 737s, 747s, 767s and 777s were delivered in the third quarter, down from 126 planes in the second quarter and from 109 planes a year ago.

Before the walkout began Sept. 6, Boeing expected to deliver 119 planes in the three months ending Sept. 30, spokesman Todd Blecher said.

Blecher attributed about 30 of the non-deliveries to the strike by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents about 25,000 electricians, riveters, forklift operators and other hourly workers in and around Seattle, 1,500 in Gresham, Ore., and 750 in Wichita, Kan.

Key issues in the dispute include pay, medical coverage, retirement benefits and job security.

A handful of aircraft, all 777s except for one 767, were not delivered as expected in the third quarter because of continuing problems with a galley supplier, Blecher said. "The supplier still has to catch up," he said.

Boeing's Web site showed, and Blecher confirmed, that 10 planes were delivered between Sept. 6 and Sept. 30- more than three times the three planes that were delivered during a 24-day Machinists union strike in 2005. Boeing failed to deliver more than two dozen planes on schedule during the earlier strike.

"That's just a function of how many airplanes were out there all finished and waiting either for certification or for a customer to come and get them," he said.

During the same period Boeing logged orders for 37 planes, including 9 767-300ERs by All Nippon Airways and 24 planes by unidentified buyers.

Boeing officials have said the company stopped assembling aircraft after the strike began.

"Obviously, our members are having an impact on Boeing's bottom line and the production lines," said Connie Kelliher, a spokeswoman for the Machinists. "They need our members to get back to building airplanes."

Union pilots at Alaska Airlines refused to cross picket lines to fly a new 737-800 from King County International Airport, better known as Boeing Field, a few miles south to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, said Sean Cassidy, a pilot and vice chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association's Alaska council.

Alaska used two management pilots to take delivery of the plane after it was towed to a different part of Boeing Field, Cassidy said.

In general Boeing is believed to get about 50 percent to 60 percent of the purchase price on delivery. List prices range from $50 million to $57 million for a 737-600 to $285.5 million to $300 million for a 747-8 before discounts, which are typical in many orders.

Boeing has about an eight-year backlog of deliveries and analysts have projected losses as high as $100 million a day in deferred revenue during the strike.