737 MAX: Boeing counts cost of bestselling jet’s global grounding over safety concerns
- 737 MAX banned from flying in most countries across the world following an Ethiopian Airlines crash
- The groundings is likely to have a far-reaching financial impact on Boeing, at least in the short term
The 737 MAX is banned from flying in most countries across the world following an Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday that killed all 157 people on board. It was the second deadly incident for the relatively new Boeing model in five months.
Airlines, aircraft industry experts and financiers said that although the ban would theoretically not prevent some domestic deliveries, most airlines would avoid taking a jet banned from entering service in the wake of two crashes in five months.
“Who is going to take delivery of a plane they can’t use,” said an aviation financier, asking not to be named.
Boeing produces 52 aircraft per month and its newest version, the MAX, represents the lion’s share of production, although Boeing declined to break out exact numbers. It is also its largest seller and accounts for almost one-third of the company’s operating profit.
Shares of the world’s biggest plane maker have fallen about 13 per cent since Sunday’s crash, losing about US$32 billion of market value.
