Comair (South Africa) (CAW, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has warned Boeing (BOE, Washington National) that the US congress's recent decision to defund the country's Export Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) has jeopardized outstanding orders for eight B737 MAX aircraft. Valued at USD1.1 billion, the twinjets are due to arrive between 2019 and 2021.
According to Reuters, the South African carrier said in a letter that unless the bank resumed lending, it would be forced to retender for new aircraft financing which could result in increased costs. As a result, it would even consider opening negotiations with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) and associated European export credit agencies for financial support.
As the official export credit agency of the United States federal government, the ExIm Bank financed and insured foreign purchases of US-manufactured goods for customers unable or unwilling to accept credit risk. However, in August the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted against extending additional funding to the bank past the expiration of its charter on June 30 of this year. Congressmen who voted against the bank have claimed it to be a form of "corporate welfare".
Since then Boeing and other manufacturers have attempted to lobby Congress to reconsider its position.
Aside from the threat of losing the Comair order, Boeing has been forced to park two finished B787-8s - 5Y-KZH (msn 36045) and 5Y-KZI (msn 36046) - destined for Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) at its Everett plant as a result of the shutdown. Bloomberg reports that the struggling carrier has now engaged Boeing, Aviation Finance, and the African Export-Import Bank to secure new financing for the two jets.
