Lion Air Boeing 737 Max losses reach USD20 million
Indonesia’s Lion Air Group says the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 8 jets has led to losses of about $20 million.
It has 10 Boeing Max planes currently sitting idle since March.
The estimate doesn’t include losses immediately arising out of the deadly crash of JT 610 in October last year, which sparked scrutiny over the safety of the aircraft.
The plane, which plunged into the Java Sea shortly after take-off, was just a few weeks old.
A second very similar crash this year led to a worldwide grounded of the aircraft.
Lion Air is one of Boeing’s largest customers of the jet and it hasn’t confirmed whether it will go through with existing orders for more than $20 billion, or cancel or convert it to other aircraft models.
Garuda Indonesia also says it has racked up losses of about $5 million due to the grounding of its Boeing Max planes.
Lion Air Group operations director Daniel Putut says it is waiting on a decision by the US Federal Aviation Administration regarding recertifying the aircraft, and then a final approval from Indonesia’s air regulator.
Indonesia’s director general of air transportation Polana Pramesti said last week the regulator won’t necessarily blindly follow FAA policy and may impose stricter training procedures for Indonesian pilots before allowing Max jets to fly again.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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