Dubai: Flydubai said on Tuesday it is “aware” of Boeing’s plans to halt production of its 737 Max aircraft as the plane model enters its ninth month of global grounding.
Boeing on Monday said that it will suspend production of the 737 Max model from January as the process of re-certifying the jet moves into 2020. The US manufacturer said the suspension will allow it to prioritise the stored aircraft that are still up for delivery.
Boeing’s 737 Max jets have been grounded across the world since March after two fatal accidents involving the model. The accidents were on a Lion Air jet, and an Ethiopian Air plane.
In the UAE, flydubai is the sole operator of Boeing’s 737 Max’s and has already seen a “significant impact” on its finances from having to ground the jets. The carrier still has more 737 Max’s on order. A flydubai spokesperson told Gulf News that the airline is aware of Boeing’s statement on suspending production, but did not provide further details on the impact this would have.
Flydubai earlier said it is attempting to mitigate the impact of the grounding by looking at opportunities for short-term and medium-term leasing of aircraft. It has already extended the lease on two Boeing Next Generation 737-800 jets, and last month finalised a deal to wet lease four aircraft of the same model between December 14, 2019 and January 25, 2020.
