Garuda Indonesia Awaits Boeing Response on Aircraft Order

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Garuda Indonesia is still waiting for negotiation with Boeing Co in light of its plan to cancel the order of 49 units of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

“We have not decided anything yet until we negotiate with Boeing,” said Garuda Indonesia president director Ari Ashkara in a short message to Tempo, Friday, March 15.

Ari explained that his corporate had sent an order cancelation letter to the US-based jet producer. However, Boeing has not signaled any response yet.

He said that the letter would be a topic in the negotiation between Garuda and Boeing. Initially, the state-run airliner proceeded the plane order that was expected to be sent until 2030.

Read: Garuda Indonesia Considers Canceling Boeing 737 MAX Orders

The cancellation plan was made after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the continuous airworthiness notification to the international community (CANIC) related to the operation of Boeing 737 Max 8 on Wednesday, March 13, in the wake of the recent crash of Ethiopian Airlines’ fleet and Lion Air’s in October 2018.

Earlier, Boeing announced its support to the ban on Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft operations. As noted in a press release Wednesday, March 13, The Boeing Company CEO Dennis Muilenburg recommended the FAA the temporary suspension of operations of the entire global fleet of 371 737 MAX aircraft.

Read: Garuda Runs Strict Standards to Operate Boeing 737 MAX 8

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA