Boeing receives vote of confidence in 737 Max from Turkish airline Sun Express with $1.2bn order
The annual Dubai air show kicked off this week with billions of pounds-worth of aircraft deals, including a substantial order for 10 Boeing 737 Max jets which remain grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes.
Turkish airline Sun Express, which already has 32 of the planes on order, put its faith in the under-fire US manufacturer with an extra $1.2bn-worth of the jets.
Read more: ‘Series of failures’ caused Boeing’s 737 Max Lion Air crash
Chief executive Jens Bischoff said the firm “stands behind” its decision to phase the 737 Max into its fleet, and that it has “full confidence” in Boeing to make safe passenger jets.
It comes eight months after the second of two fatal crashes involving the model, which combined killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
The disasters have both been linked to an anti-stall system fitted in the plane, which forced the nose down to the ground despite the pilots’ best efforts.
Boeing has pledged to fix the issue, but has come under heavy criticism this year.
Read more: Europe ‘will not accept’ FAA’s safety decision on grounded Boeing 737 Max
“We are honored and humbled by the trust that Su nExpress has placed in our team at Boeing. They have been a wonderful partner over the years, demonstrating every day the efficiency and reliability of the Boeing 737 across their growing network,” said Stan Deal, president the company’s commercial airplanes unit.
“We regret the impact the Max grounding has had on Sun Express and their passengers. The Boeing team is working hard to safely return the airplane to service and providing the capacity for Sun Express to continue serving as the backbone of air travel in the Turkish tourism industry.”