Virgin Australia delays $2.8BILLION purchase of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes for six years after two crashes claim the lives of 346 passengers
- Virgin Australia has nearly halved Boeing 737 Max 8 order and delayed delivery
- The move comes after two fatal crashes on the new model in just five months
- Instead, delivery of Boeing Max 10 has been brought forward by six months
Virgin Australia has nearly halved its order of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft and pushed back their delivery by six years after two fatal crashes involving the new planes.
The airline revealed it would move the scheduled delivery date of the first 737 Max 8 from November 2019 to February 2025, and cut the number on order from 38 to 23.
'Safety is always the number one priority for Virgin Australia,' new chief executive Paul Scurrah said.
'We will not introduce any new aircraft to the fleet unless we are completely satisfied with its safety.'
Virgin has delayed its delivery of Boeing 737 Max 8's after two fatal crashes killed 346 people in just five months (stock image)
On March 10, 149 passengers and eight crew members were killed in a horrific crash about six minutes after take off (pictured)
Virgin had originally ordered 38 737 Max 8's to be delivered in November 2019 and 10 Max 10's for delivery in January 2022.
The order has been altered so the number of Max 10's will be increased to 25 , brought forward to July 2021, and the number of Max 8's will be reduced to 23, with delivery pushed back to February 2025 after investigations and remedial changes are completed.
The move comes after two deadly crashes in just five months saw the entire Boeing 737 Max fleet grounded.
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On October 29 last year, a Lion Air 737 Max 8 slammed into the Java Sea just 13 minutes after take off, killing all 189 on board. The plane had been delivered only two months earlier.
Last month, 149 passengers and eight crew members were killed in a horrific Ethiopian Airlines crash about six minutes after take off. The 787 Max 8 was four months old.
Despite the current track record, Mr Scurrah said he believes Boeing will be able to eliminate any safety issues in time for delivery.
'We are confident in Boeing’s commitment to returning the 737 MAX to service safely and as a long-term partner of Boeing, we will be working with them through this process,' he said.
On October 29, 2018, 189 were killed when a Boeing 737 Max 8 smashed into the Java Sea just minutes after takeoff (pictured)
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