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SAFETY FIRST: Virgin Australia delays its Boeing 737 MAX order

In the interest of passenger safety, Virgin Australia has decided to delay the delivery of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft order until July 2021.

In the interest of passenger safety, Virgin Australia has decided to delay the delivery of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft order until July 2021.

It comes following two fatal crashes of Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 planes this year, leading a to a worldwide grounding of the new commercial jet.

Virgin Australia arranged with Boeing to push back its order which was originally intended to be delivered in November 2019.

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On top of this, the airline has swapped out 15 of its 737 MAX 8 aircraft on order for 737 MAX 10s.

Virgin Australia’s CEO Paul Scurrah commented on the decision, saying “safety is always the number one priority for Virgin Australia”.

“As we have previously stated, we will not introduce any new aircraft to the fleet unless we are completely satisfied with its safety,” he said.

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Image: remonews.com

“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.”

Virgin Australia’s CEO Paul Scurrah

He went on to say that the revised timing also results in “a number of positive commercial benefits for the Group” including “significant deferral of capital expenditure by extending the use of existing aircraft given the relatively young age of our fleet”.

It will also provide the group earlier access to the “superior operational economics of the MAX 10 aircraft.”

What do you think about Virgin Australia’s decision?