Malaysia Airlines suspends Boeing 737 MAX jet deliveries

Malaysia Airlines said on Wednesday it has suspended taking delivery of 25 Boeing Co 737 MAX jets, citing the plane’s delayed return to service since it was grounded last year following two fatal crashes.

The decision represents another setback for Boeing, which on Tuesday reported its worst annual net orders in decades, along with its lowest number of plane deliveries in 11 years, as the grounding of the 737 MAX saw it fall far behind main competitor Airbus SE.

“In view of the production stoppage and the delayed return to service of the 737-MAX, Malaysia Airlines has suspended the delivery of its orders,” the airline said in an email.

The carrier had been due to take delivery of its first 737 MAX in July 2020 but last year its chief executive said the introduction to service could slide beyond that.

Malaysia Airlines did not respond immediately to a request by Reuters for comment on how many of the 25 planes it has on order were due to be delivered this year.

Analysts said cash-strapped carriers like Malaysian Airlines that over-ordered planes could take advantage of the 737 MAX grounding to negotiate with Boeing to restructure their orders.

Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd last year said it would delay taking the first deliveries of 737 MAX jets for nearly two years to reduce capital spending.

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA last year said its Dublin-based leasing subsidiary had reached an agreement with Boeing to postpone delivery of 14 737 MAX planes that were originally due in 2020 and 2021.

Boeing on Tuesday reported a net negative of 183 orders for the 737 MAX in 2019, including cancellations, but many were associated with the collapse of a major customer, India’s Jet Airways Ltd.

Boeing did not respond immediately to a request for comment about Malaysia Airlines’ decision to suspend deliveries of its orders.

The Malaysian government has been seeking a buyer for the debt-heavy airline, which is still recovering from two tragedies in 2014 when flight MH370 disappeared in what remains a mystery and flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine.