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Tag: Boeing 737

  • Garuda Indonesia Cancels 49 Boeing 737 MAX Orders

    Garuda Indonesia Cancels 49 Boeing 737 MAX Orders

    Breaking news coming from Jakarta that Garuda Indonesia has canceled their order for 49 Boeing 737 MAX placed a few years ago. This comes after two disastrous 737 MAX crashes and a worldwide grounding of the aircraft for safety reasons. Garuda operates over 70 737NG aircraft. As such, the 737 MAX was a natural addition to the fleet and part of the 737NG replacement plan. At face value, Garuda’s order was worth $4.9 billion.

    Garuda made the following comments upon ordering the 737 MAX:

    The Cancellation

    Garuda Indonesia’s President Director, Gusti Ngurah Askhara Danadiputra, announced the cancellation on Thursday, March 21st. In his comments, he specifically stated that the 737 MAX 8 suffered from bad publicity that spooked travelers from choosing the 737 MAX 8. Specifically, Garuda Indonesia believes there is no longer passenger confidence in the aircraft, so they are cancelling their order.

    This isn’t a major issue for Garuda Indonesia since they only have one 737 MAX 8. Depending on how long the groundings of MAX aircraft last, Garuda could find a new buyer or lessor for that specific aircraft. They could also sell it back to Boeing as part of a deal. Garuda Indonesia is already an Airbus customer. They operate both the A330-200 and 300 widebodies. In addition, Garuda Indonesia has 14 A330-900s on order.

    Cancelling the 737 MAX leaves Garuda with few options for sourcing a narrowbody replacement for their 737-800s. Russia is working on an alternative, however, it seems like Garuda will need an established plane with passenger confidence. In addition, based of Garuda Indonesia’s original order, they will probably go for a fuel efficient plane that carry a similar number of passengers.

    This makes the A320neo the most likely option for Garuda Indonesia. On an order for 50 aircraft, Garuda will probably get some discounts from Airbus that would make the delayed entry, any cancellation fees with Boeing, and increased maintenance and training costs worth it if passengers will still fly with them.

    The A320neo, however, would not be entirely out of place in Garuda’s fleet. Garuda Indonesia operates a low-cost arm called Citilink. Citilink flies over 50 A320/A320neo family aircraft.

    Overall

    In the grand scheme of things, Garuda Indonesia is not a major 737 MAX customer.  Norwegian, SpiceJet, Ryanair, Jet Airways, Lion Air, Flydubai, and Southwest all have over 100 737 MAX aircraft on order. However, if Garuda Indonesia is expressing concern about the 737 MAX, it is likely that other airlines are also concerned about their 737 MAX fleet and orders.

  • VietJet inked 100 Boeing 737 jets deal

    VietJet inked 100 Boeing 737 jets deal

    Boeing Co struck a new deal for 100 passenger jets with Vietnamese budget airline VietJet Aviation JSC VJC.HM on Wednesday, deepening a battle for market share against rival Airbus (AIR.PA) in one of southeast Asia’s hottest markets.

    Boeing and VietJet signed the provisional order for 100 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes worth almost $13 billion at list prices at the Farnborough Airshow in southern England.

    Of these, 80 are the recently launched 737 MAX 10 – the largest version of Boeing’s best-selling 737 range – and 20 are the benchmark 737 MAX 8 model.

    “The growth is incredibly strong in Southeast Asia,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Kevin McAllister. “VietJet is a major player there.”

    The draft deal comes two years after Boeing upstaged Airbus by clinching an order for 100 737 MAX jets during a visit by then-U.S. President Barack Obama.

    Until then, VietJet had only ordered planes from Airbus, including a bumper order for 92 jets in December 2013.

    However, aircraft finance industry sources have expressed doubts over whether all the planes on order would be delivered on schedule amid a glut of airplane orders in the region.

    VietJet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao insisted on Wednesday the airline would use both the A320 and 737 aircraft in its fleet and would have “no problem” taking delivery.

    The companies said VietJet, one of the fastest-growing carriers in southeast Asia, needed the planes to satisfy surging demand on high-dense domestic routes as well as popular routes throughout Asia.

    Vietnam’s first privately owned airline will become the largest MAX 10 customer in Asia once the deal is completed, with deliveries due in 2022-2025, the companies said.

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  • Boeing 737 restaurant opens in China

    Boeing 737 restaurant opens in China

    A decommissioned Boeing 737 aircraft has found new life as an airline-themed restaurant in Wuhan, China.

    Parked in a German-style pedestrian mall and with a covered boarding ramp accessed by an escalator, the Boeing 737 restaurant has 20 tables, and guests can even try out a flight simulation system in the cabin.

    Boeing 737 restaurant Wuhan China 2

    Named Lily Airways, the restaurant is owned by tycoon Li Yang, who says he spent 35 million yuan (about US$5.2 million) to relocate and convert the retired plane.

    Boeing 737 restaurant Wuhan China 1

    While the wait staff wears flight attendant uniforms, diners need not worry about being served such plane fare as packaged nuts – the international chefs in the on-board kitchen offer Western-style fine dining.

    Li Yang says the airliner was bought from the bankrupt Batavia Airways of Indonesia, and took almost four months to transport after being split into several parts.

     

    Photo courtesy: CFP – Trending in China.

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