WRAPUP 2-Cathay seeks to delay Boeing deliveries, cut costs

* Cathay looking to delay deliveries on Boeing orders

* Cathay defers new cargo terminal, offers unpaid leave

* China to ask airlines to delay jet deliveries - report (Adds Boeing comment, share price, background)

By Joanne Chiu

HONG KONG, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) said it plans to delay delivery of its Boeing (BA.N) aircraft, with list prices of about $9.5 billion, while Beijing is said to be considering asking its airlines to request similar delays as the global financial crisis hits the region's carriers.

Cathay Pacific also said on Friday it would defer construction of a cargo terminal in Hong Kong and ask its cabin crews to take unpaid leave to cut costs as demand shrinks.

Declining consumer spending has added to the problems of airlines, which have been grappling with higher fuel costs.

"This is a very difficult time for our airline and for the aviation industry as a whole, and we cannot see light at the end of the tunnel at this point," Cathay's Chief Executive Tony Tyler told reporters on Friday.

Cathay Pacific, based in Hong Kong, has orders for about 35 Boeing and was expected to take delivery of around 10 each year in 2009, 2010 and 2011. "We have suggested to them that we are happy to take a delay of 777 and some freighters," Tyler said.

According to Boeing's website, Cathay has unfilled orders for 10 747-8 Freighters, four 747-ERF Freighters and 21 777-300ER twin engine passenger jets, worth a total of almost $9.5 billion at current average list prices.

Given that a two-month machinists' strike at Boeing was resolved this month, Cathay Pacific will take the opportunity to negotiate with Boeing to delay delivery, and it will take 60 to 90 days to work up a plan, chief operating officer John Slosar said.

"There won't be a huge change, and it will be more a push back and move around a little bit," he said.

Cathay's decision is a minor blow for Boeing, which has a backlog of orders for 3,734 planes. But it could be a sign that more airlines in Asia, an increasingly important region for the U.S. plane maker, could push back deliveries or even cancel orders.

A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on Cathay's deferral, saying Boeing does not talk about specific customers. He said deferrals occur frequently, and Boeing has a "strong and diverse" backlog to weather any downcycle.

Boeing has had major deferrals this year from U.S. carriers Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) and AirTran Holdings Inc (AAI.N). But with airlines around the world facing volatile fuel prices, waning demand and difficulty accessing capital, more deferrals or cancellations could occur.

Boeing is already delaying deliveries of all its commercial jets by at least two months after the 58-day strike by its machinists. The company is expected to set out a new delivery timetable in December.

The plane maker's shares closed up 3.3 percent at $42.63 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

MORE FROM CATHAY, AIR CHINA DELIVERIES OK

Cathay will postpone building its HK$4.8 billion ($619 million) cargo terminal by up to two years. Groundbreaking was in September, and it was expected to be completed in the second half of 2011. Traffic through the world's biggest international cargo airport slowed 9.2 percent in October after declining 7.5 percent in September.

Cathay said earlier this month that its October cargo volume sank 7.4 percent to 144,466 tonnes.

Analysts said delaying the terminal would ease Cathay's cash flow problem. It issued a profit warning this month on the back of potential fuel hedging losses of about $361 million.

The airline also plans to ask cabin crews to take unpaid leave of between two weeks to 12 months, park two freighters, sell or retire five planes and reorganise flight schedules.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is preparing to ask carriers to negotiate with aircraft leasing companies and manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus (EAD.PA), about delaying delivery of new orders, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday.

"A meeting has been called by CAAC at the beginning of next month to discuss an adjustment of the delivery schedule," it quoted Xiamen Airlines general manager Hu Bin as saying.

But Air China (0753.HK), the country's largest airline by market value, said it had received no such notice.

Huang Bin, secretary of the board of Air China, said his company was on schedule to receive 23 aircraft, including Airbus A320 and Boeing B737-800, next year.

"Apart from the delay in delivering Boeing 787 due to its own reasons, all other (deliveries) remain normal," Huang Bin told Reuters by telephone.

Boeing had said earlier in November that the first flight of its 787 Dreamliner would be pushed into next year instead of the end of this year because of the strike. Concerns about the production delays and airlines' lack of financing to buy planes recently helped send Boeing's stock to a five-year low. ($1=HK$7.752) (Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris, Bill Rigby in New York; Writing by Alison Leung; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Toni Reinhold)