Boeing’s $600-billion-plus order book for its 737 Max began shaking after several big customers threatened to reconsider their purchases in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, the second deadly accident involving the plane since October.
VietJet Aviation JSC, which doubled its order to about $25 billion only last month, said it will decide on its future plans once the cause of the tragedy has been found. Kenya Airways is reviewing proposals to buy the Max and could switch to Airbus SE’s rival A320. Russia’s Utair Aviation is seeking guarantees before taking delivery of the first of 30 planes.
Indonesia’s Lion Air firms up moves to drop a $22 billion order for the 737 in favour of the Airbus jet, according to a person with knowledge of the plan. Separately, Garuda Indonesia plans to cut orders of the Boeing plane and a $5.9-billion order from a unit of Saudi Arabian Airlines hangs in the balance.
