Korean Air to receive first Bombardier C Series jet on Friday after engine delays

An employee inspects the engine of a C Series plane at Bombardier's plant in Mirabel, Quebec Canada, October 20, 2017. - Reuters filepic

SEOUL: Korean Air Lines Co Ltd <003490.KS> said on Wednesday it will receive its first Bombardier Inc C Series jet on Friday after months of delays related to engine issues, with a second delivery to follow shortly after.

United Technologies Corp held back some shipments of its troubled Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan jet engines to plane makers, and offered spares to airlines which have had problems with engines already in service.

Korean Air, the first Asian airline to receive the C Series, in August forecast it would receive five CS300 jets this year. In October, President Walter Cho said the estimate had changed to "hopefully one".

The first CS300 will be delivered to Korean Air in Canada on Friday and will arrive in Seoul on Dec. 25, with the second due to arrive in Seoul on Jan. 1, a Korean Air spokeswoman said.

Korean Air in a statement said the two jets will run domestic routes from Jan. 16. The airline expects to receive eight more CS300s by the end of 2018, raising its total to 10.

Bombardier, which in October announced plans to sell a controlling stake in the fuel-efficient jet to Airbus SE , last week said it expected to deliver 40 C Series aircraft next year. - Reuters