British Airways' parent company signals intent to buy 200 Boeing 737 Max

The jets could be used by British Airways at Gatwick Airport

Travel Correspondent

Thursday 20 June 2019 08:32 BST

International Airlines Group orders 200 Boeing 737 Max planes for British Airways flights at Gatwick

While hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets languish on the ground, British Airways’ parent company has signed a letter of intent for 200 of the aircraft.

The planemaker’s latest short-haul jet has been grounded since March following two fatal crashes.

A total of 346 people died when Boeing 737 Max jets belonging to Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after take-off.

In both cases, an anti-stall system known as MCAS forced the nose of the aircraft downwards despite the pilots’ best efforts to fight it.

Boeing is working on software and training updates, but at present there is no certainty about when the plane may fly again.

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

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1/9Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

This picture taken on March 11, 2019, shows debris of the crashed airplane of Ethiopia Airlines, near Bishoftu, a town some 60 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. - An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed on March 10 morning en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi with 149 passengers and eight crew believed to be on board, Ethiopian Airlines said. (Photo by Michael TEWELDE / AFP)MICHAEL TEWELDE/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Family members mourn the victims at the crash site of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A page of a Boeing flight crew operations manual is seen at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

REUTERS

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

epa07434278 Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER

EPA

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 passenger plane of the Norwegian low-cost airline Norwegian is parked at the tarmac at Vantaa airport in Vantaa near Helsinki, Finland on March 13, 2019. - A number of countries have banned Boeing's 737 MAX 8 medium-haul workhorse jet from their airspace in response to the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board. (Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUTHEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER

EPA

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A heap of debris from the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are piled at the crash site near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STR

EPA

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

A crew working with an investigative team to clear the site after the Sunday crash of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, carry debris at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, on a flight from Miami to New York City, comes in for landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York, U.S., March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

REUTERS

At the Paris Air Show this week, British Airways’ parent company, IAG, said it wanted to buy 200 of the planes.

Subject to a commercial contract, the mix of 737 Max 8 and 737 Max 10 aircraft would be delivered between 2023 and 2027.

IAG said: “It is anticipated that the aircraft would be used by a number of the Group’s airlines including Vueling, Level plus British Airways at London Gatwick airport.”

How to tell if you're on a Boeing 737 Max

At present BA flies no short-haul Boeing aircraft. The fleet at Gatwick and Heathrow is all Airbus A320 series.

Willie Walsh, IAG’s chief executive, said: “We’re very pleased to sign this letter of intent with Boeing and are certain that these aircraft will be a great addition to IAG’s short-haul fleet.

“We have every confidence in Boeing and expect that the aircraft will make a successful return to service in the coming months having received approval from the regulators.”

The biggest operators of the 737 Max in the UK are Tui Airways and Norwegian.

Ryanair.has 210 Boeing 737 Max jets with a special configuration on order, but has yet to take delivery. It originally intended to start flying them in May 2019.

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British Airways' parent company signals intent to buy 200 Boeing 737 Max

The jets could be used by British Airways at Gatwick Airport

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Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures

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