Big777jet From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (10 years 7 months 1 week 4 hours ago) and read 1333 times:
I found flight tracker. UAL delivery new A320 today from France stopover in Iceland to Indianapolis. I thought UAL could not afford due near bankruptcy.
Here it is:
Airline United
Flight Number 9161
Departure City (Airport) Reykjavik, Iceland (BIKF)
Departure Time
Arrival City (Airport) Indianapolis, IN (IND)
Arrival Time 10/18/2002 02:49 PM
Remaining Flight Time 00:00
Aircraft Type Airbus A320
Current Altitude 0 feet
Current Groundspeed 0 mph
Flight Status Arrived
BA From United States of America, joined May 2000, 11135 posts, RR: 61 Reply 2, posted (10 years 7 months 1 week 3 hours ago) and read 1257 times:
Uhhh...this isn't anything amazing. United has gotten several A320s this past year and 1 or 2 new 777s.
Just because an airline is near bankruptcy it doesn't mean they can't afford new aircraft. It's not like they only have $100 in there pockets. That's now how corporations work.
UALrampORD,
UA ordered these new aircraft before 9/11. They were either fully pre-paid, or they were 1/3 payed, then another 1/3 to have the aircraft painted, then the remaining 1/3 upon delivery.
Regards
"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need." - Khalil Gibran
Pilot1113 From United States of America, joined Aug 1999, 2333 posts, RR: 13 Reply 3, posted (10 years 7 months 1 week 3 hours ago) and read 1255 times:
My guess is that this was bought and paid for waaay before the economy began to tank. Airbus is only now delivering it.
Jwenting From Netherlands, joined Apr 2001, 10213 posts, RR: 21 Reply 7, posted (10 years 7 months 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 967 times:
Yup.
It's quite easy, actually. Once a contract is signed there is usually a clause stating a penalty for cancelling it.
As you get closer to fullfillment of the contract (i.e. delivery date in this case) the penalty usually increases. At some point, the penalty becomes equal to or greater than the value of the contract (i.e. aircraft) itself.
So it is quite possible that cancelling the order would have cost them more than taking delivery, and now that they have the aircraft they can also use it to replace another aircraft in their fleet that is more expensive to operate thus lowering their operating cost overall which means a cashflow improvement.
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