Azerbaijan makes changes to agreement on Boeing 737 MAX delivery - EXCLUSIVE

Based on negotiations with Boeing Corporation, changes are made to the agreement on delivery of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), press service of AZAL said in response to Report's inquiry.

AZAL said the airplanes are expected to be purchased starting in at least five years (from 2024).

In April 2017, Azerbaijan's Silk Way Airlines and Boeing Corporation signed an agreement to purchase 10 Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircrafts. The total cost of the deal was approximately $ 1 billion. The supply had to be made within three years.

For now, AZAL will actively use the existing fleet. The company uses the airplanes of the world's leading aircraft makers - Boeing, Airbus and Embraer.

Two airplanes of this type crashed on October 29, 2018 and March 10 this year. In the first case, Lion Air's Boeing 737 MAX crashed into the sea in Indonesia 13 minutes after takeoff. 189 people were killed as a result. In the latter case, the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed six minutes after departing from Bole Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian capital. The liner was on its way to the Kenyan capital Nairobi when it crashed killing all 149 passengers and eight crew members. After that, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was suspended all over the world until the results of the incident investigation were clarified.

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal wrote that the operation of 737 MAX family airliners could resume no earlier than early 2020, as the American air regulator supplemented the certification procedure with new tests. The publication also reported that Boeing may suspend the production of these aircraft if the regulator does not approve the resumption of operation before the end of the year. Boeing's losses over suspension of the use of the aircraft and the delay in aircraft operation is estimated at $4.9 billion.