Malaysia Airlines suspends taking delivery of Boeing 737 MAX jets due to grounding

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia Airlines said on Wednesday it has suspended taking delivery of 25 Boeing 737 MAX jets, citing the plane's delayed return to service since it was grounded last year following two fatal crashes.

"In view of the production stoppage and the delayed return to service of the 737-MAX, Malaysia Airlines has suspended the delivery of its orders," the struggling airline said in an email.

The carrier had been due to take delivery of its first 737 MAX in July 2020 but last year its chief executive said the introduction to service could slide beyond that.

Boeing reported its worst annual net orders in decades on Tuesday, along with its lowest numbers for plane deliveries in 11 years, as the grounding of the 737 MAX saw it fall far behind main competitor Airbus.

Boeing did not respond immediately to a request for comment about Malaysia Airlines' decision to suspend deliveries of its orders.

The Malaysian government has been seeking a buyer for the debt-heavy airline, which is still recovering from two tragedies in 2014, when flight MH370 disappeared in what remains a mystery and flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

REUTERS