A $2-billion order from Taiwan’s China Airlines is a vote of confidence for Boeing’s re-certified 7-87 production, according to an aviation analyst.
It’s a positive development, says Richard Aboulafia, managing director for AeroDynamic Advisory, who tells Northwest Newsradio the 16 widebody plane order comes after that segment was hit hard by a COVID plunge in international travel and overproduction, “and then on top of that,” Aboulafia says, “you’ve got a lot of airlines looking toward smaller jets. It’s not unheard of to put a 737-MAX or Airbus Neo series on a route across the Atlantic these days.”
Aboulafia says the question of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan playing a role in the order is an interesting one, with years of uncertainty about US support for the island nation, claimed by China as its territory. Aboulafia says, “Clearly, given the tensions with China, Taiwan […] could be banking on more US political cover. It could have conceivably played a role. These days, jetliner purchases are never truly depoliticized.” He says it’s more likely that discussions on US-Taiwan trade were centered on more high-priority items, like computer chips, which are still in a dire shortage.
Aboulafia says it really sends a message Taiwan is open for international travel, tourism and trade while he says China is more closed.
