Ethiopian Airlines crash puts US$633 billion worth of Boeing 737 MAX jet orders in jeopardy – with Asian airlines among the biggest customers
- Korean Air, with 30 MAX jets on order, said it would still take delivery of first plane in May, but would not fly any until they were regarded safe
- Indonesia’s Lion Air considers dropping order of almost 200 jets worth US$22 billion, following airline’s involvement in earlier crash in October
Asian airlines may cancel orders for Boeing 737 MAX jets unless the model is proven safe after new evidence on Wednesday linked two fatal crashes that occurred five months apart.
The US finally found evidence to show a link between the Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed 157 people on Sunday, and the Lion Air disaster in Indonesia in October that claimed 189 lives.
The country’s air safety regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded Boeing’s bestselling plane, hot on the heels of a similar ruling by Canada, effectively banning the plane worldwide.
Seven Chinese nationals and one Hongkonger died in Sunday’s crash.
The grounding placed US$633 billion worth of orders for the MAX jet in jeopardy, with the region’s carriers among the largest buyers.
