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By Joanna Plucinska and David Shepardson
FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) -More plane orders flowed in at the Farnborough Airshow on Tuesday despite supply chain pressures on jetmakers and complaints from airlines about delivery delays.
Boeing announced deals with Qatar Airways and Macquarie Airfinance, while Airbus secured orders from Japan Airlines and Virgin Atlantic - although much of the business had already been flagged.
Qatar Airways also held out the prospect of a "sizeable" order for wide-body jets around the turn of the year, and flydubai told Reuters it was in early stage talks with Airbus and Boeing for its largest ever order.
Delegates have been expecting limited deal-making at this year's showcase aviation industry event, with Airbus and Boeing both sold out for several years of production and struggling to ramp up output amid supply chain problems.
Delays in plane deliveries have limited some airlines' ability to take advantage of a post-pandemic travel boom which some say is starting to fade.
Boeing in particular had to scale back production as it came under legal and regulatory scrutiny after a panel blew off mid-air on a near-new 737 MAX 9 in January.
That has left some airlines deeply frustrated.
"So in March, we were told your 12 aircraft is now going to be eight. So now in July, just last week, we were told, out of the eight, we've already received four and we're not going to receive anything more," said Ghaith al-Ghaith, the CEO of flydubai, which complained on Monday about delays at Boeing.
"From our point of view, this is where there is frustration, and we felt like we had to say something."
Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president for global supply chain and fabrication at Boeing, told a panel it was "a fair sentiment on the part of the supply base and the airlines to say that we failed our commitments to them in terms of the timeline," adding the company was working to win back trust.
RUNNING PLANES FOR LONGER
Despite the problems, many airlines are keen to lock in deals for more fuel efficient aircraft amid forecasts for strong growth in air travel for years to come.
Qatar Airways said it had ordered 20 more Boeing 777-9 planes, expanding its order book for the U.S. manufacturer's 777X family of jets to almost 100.
The deal, worth almost $4 billion according to Cirium Ascend estimates, was already listed in Boeing's order book as an unidentified customer.
Boeing also bagged an order for 20 737 MAX-8 planes from Macquarie Airfinance, worth about an estimated $1 billion.