Indonesian airline Garuda cancels order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets
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Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda has cancelled a multibillion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets blaming blames loss of passenger trust after Ethiopia Airlines and Lion Air disasters involving the aircraft.
This is thought to be the first formal cancellation for the Boeing model.
Garuda had already received one of the 737 MAX 8 planes, part of a 50-plane order worth $4.9bn at list prices when it was announced in 2014. Reports indicated that Garuda is now also talking to Boeing about whether or not to return the plane it has received.
This month, Indonesia’s Lion Air said was postponing taking delivery of four new Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after an Ethiopian Airlines plane of the same model crashed minutes into a flight to Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board. In October, a Lion Air jet of the same model crashed in Indonesia killing all 189 people on board.
As Boeing continued to work on a fix for the planes grounded by airlines across the world, reports on Friday suggested that the manufacturer would make it compulsory for airlines buying the aircraft to have one of two optional safety features installed.
The equipment alerts pilots of faulty information from key sensors. It will now be included on every 737 Max as part of changes that Boeing is rushing to complete on the jets by early next week, according to two people familiar with the changes.
Airlines can decide whether to pay for upgrades to a standard plane, a common practice in the industry which enables manufacturers to charge extra.
