A decision on additional purchases will follow after Boeing offers a software fix to a system implicated in both crashes and seeing what regulators and other airlines do, CEO says
An aircraft of Ethiopian Airlines in Geneva. Picture: REUTERS
“We may reach the decision [to cancel the order]. We just had a very tragic accident a few weeks ago, and customers still have the accident in their mind. So it will be a hard sell for us to convince our customers,’’ he said. In both flights, a system was active that can automatically force the aircraft’s nose down. Boeing has said it is devising a software fix to avert deadly plunges by the jet.
Ethiopian Airlines, founded more than half a century ago under former emperor Haile Selassie, has expanded beyond its home market with a hub model that pulls in passengers from around the world to Addis Ababa and sends them onward to cities across Sub-Saharan Africa. Several big Boeing customers have threatened to reconsider their 737 Max purchases in recent weeks, jeopardising the $600bn-plus order book for the aircraft.
Also since the crash, Airbus SE secured a $35bn jet deal from China. If Ethiopian Airlines declines additional Max jets, it may instead seek another model, the 737 NG, Tewolde said. Sticking with the 737 line would save on training, maintenance and spare parts, he said.
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