MacBook Air shipping delay

Customers that have placed orders for the new entry-level MacBook Airs will now have to wait until after Thanksgiving to receive them, according to Apple Insider. The products were originally scheduled for shipment on November 5th, with delivery expected by the 10th. "Due to an unexpected delay, we are unable to ship your MacBook Air by the date originally quoted to you," explained an email sent to customers. Apple pushed the dates forward to November 24th for shipment, with customers receiving the notebooks by the 29th.

The problem only seems to be affecting the base model with a 1.6GHz processor and 120GB SATA hard drive, while the upgraded 1.86GHz model with a 128GB SSD models have arrived a week early to some customers. The Apple Store reverts the ship time back to 3-5 days when the 128GB solid state drive option is added to the 1.6GHz Air, indicating that the drive is likely the component to blame.
The solid state drive upgrade adds another $500 to the price of the notebook.

The company apologized to customers that purchased an Air and received the incorrect shipping quotes, although they will allow them to cancel or change their order. Apple occasionally ships products to customers earlier than the anticipated dates. Several customers received the initial release MacBook Airs a week ahead of schedule. When iPhone power adapters were recalled, some of the replacements also arrived early.

by MacNN Staff