Another setback for Boeing: an Indonesian airline has canceled the purchase of 49 aircraft 737 MAX

JAKARTA, Indonesia-. In the context of another major setback for the Boeing company, the Indonesian company Garuda today announced the cancellation of an order for 49 737 MAX 8, as a result of

accidents

in which planes of this model were involved in five months.

"We sent a letter to Boeing asking for the cancellation of the order," said Ikhsan Rosan, spokesman for the Indonesian national airline, who said the airline was waiting for the response from

Boeing

.

"The reason is that the Garuda pbadengers have lost confidence in themselves and do not want to fly (in the models) Max," he added.

Garuda has already received one of the 737 MAX 8s, which is part of an order of 50 devices worth $ 4900 million, according to the listed catalog price at the time of the year. announcement of the contract in 2014.

A Boeing delegation will travel to Indonesia next week to discuss this decision, the spokesman said, adding that the company was negotiating with Boeing to return the plane that she had already received. .

The airline has already paid some $ 26 million to Boeing. Garuda Chief Executive Gusti Ngurah Ashkara Danadiputra told Indonesian newspaper Detik that he would consider switching to another version of the 737.

"In principle, we do not want to replace Boeing (for another company), but maybe we will replace (these planes) with another model," said Garuda Indonesia's director at Detik.

The plane crash 737 MAX 8 of Ethiopian Airlines, which killed 157 people, is the second in less than five months of this type of plane. Last October, a Lion Air aircraft fell off the coast of Indonesia. Its 189 occupants have died.

The similarities between the two accidents have led the international aviation regulators to ban theft of these devices
waiting to find out more about the causes.

Last cancellation?

Shukor Yusof, head of a Malaysian aviation consulting firm, Endau Analytics, said that Garuda's announcement was the first cancellation of Boeing 737 MAX 8 orders.

"And this is probably not the last, there is a risk that Garuda's competitor, Lion Air, who also holds important orders for 737 MAX 8, makes the same decision," he said. -he declares.

"The president of Lion Air has publicly stated that he is considering a cancellation," but it's hard to say if other airlines will do the same, he said.

"There are many unanswered questions and each airline has specific needs," said the manager. The low-cost airline Lion Air, which has the largest fleet in Southeast Asia, is a major customer of Boeing. The airline announced in March that it had postponed delivery of four 737 Max 8 aircraft without immediately announcing a cancellation.

After the two accidents of a 737 MAX 8, version equipped with Boeing's new 737 engines, investigators' suspicions focused on the MCAS device stabilization system (System of increase of maneuvering characteristics).

On Thursday, Boeing announced that all 737 MAX will be equipped with a warning light that will warn of any problems related to the operation of the system, which previously was a paid option.

This light signal, called "Light Disagreement" and which until now was optional, will become an integral part of the device and is one of the modifications that Boeing will present to US authorities in the coming days.

AFP Agency