Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur International) has suspended B737 MAX deliveries from Boeing, due to the delayed return to service of the aircraft type since it was grounded globally last year.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, the Malaysian flag carrier had been expecting a total of fifteen B737-8s and ten B737-10s. The airline said that deliveries had been due to start in July with five to be delivered in 2020.
“In view of the production stoppage and the delayed return to service of the 737 MAX, Malaysia Airlines has suspended the delivery of its orders which are due in 2020,” the carrier said in a statement without stating how long the suspension would be for. “As there is no clarity yet from various authorities on its return to service, our technical due diligence is still ongoing.”
The move is another blow for Boeing, which on January 14 reported its worst annual net orders in decades and its lowest number of deliveries in 11 years, Reuters reported. It said it was sorry for the disruption the situation had caused Malaysia Airlines, assuring in a statement: “We are working to support them and all of our customers in every way possible to ensure complete confidence in the 737 MAX and a safe return to commercial flight.”
The manufacturer has reported a net negative of 183 orders for 737 MAX aircraft including cancellations for last year, but it claimed that many of these were due to the collapse of a major customer, Jet Airways (Mumbai International).
However, flyadeal (F3, Jeddah International) has reversed a commitment to buy up to 50 of the jets, preferring an entirely Airbus fleet. Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) has said it will cancel a 737 MAX order, though it remains on Boeing’s books, and Lion Air (JT, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) warned it may axe tens of billions of dollars worth of orders, according to the Bloomberg news agency.
Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane International) has said it will delay taking the first deliveries of 737 MAX aircraft by two years, and Norwegian Air International (Dublin International) has agreed with Boeing to postpone delivery of 14 of them originally due in 2020 and 2021.
