Farnborough Airshow: Delta orders 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft worth $13.5 billion

Before Delta placed the biggest order for 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, India's aviation startup Akasa Air ordered 72 Boeing 737 Max aircraft at the 2021 Dubai Air Show.

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Delta Airlines, the United States bases international air carrier has placed a massive order of 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft worth $13.5 billion. This is the single largest order for the controversial single-aisle planes after FAA allowed the planes to fly again post two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. The gigantic deal for 100 medium-haul Boeing 737 MAX10 aircraft worth $13.5 billion at list prices was announced on the first day of the ongoing Farnborough Airshow.

Delta has an option to purchase 30 more of the aircraft as the airline looks to keep up with surging travel demand. Boeing has struggled to keep up with its European rival Airbus after a pair of 737 Max aircraft crashed in a short span of time, killing 346 passengers and crew members.

#BREAKING Delta orders 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets worth $13.5 bn pic.twitter.com/P6GdHt3XzA — AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 18, 2022

Delta Air Lines said Monday that the airplanes, which can seat up to 230 people, will reduce fuel consumption and emissions by 20 per cent to 30 per cent compared with the planes it will replace. However, the Max 10 has not been certified by federal regulators.

Boeing is rushing to get that approval before a year-end deadline, when new standards enacted after two crashes of Max jets would require that the planes have a cockpit-alert system that warns pilots about some malfunctions on the plane.

The deal with Delta, announced at the Farnborough International Air Show near London, provides an additional shot in the arm for Boeing. The manufacturer announced last week that it delivered 51 passenger and cargo planes in June, its best month for deliveries in more than three years. Of those deliveries, 43 were for its 737 Max airliners.

Delta has a fleet of more than 850 mainline aircraft, including more than 450 Boeing 717s, 737s, 757s and 767s. Earlier, India's aviation startup Akasa Air ordered 72 Boeing 737 Max aircraft at the 2021 Dubai Air Show, which was the biggest order for the Max series of aircrafts at the time.

With agency inputs