Despite its much publicized loss of two Boeing 777s, Malaysia Airlines says it’s forging ahead with a path for growth by ordering 50 new Boeing 737 MAX airliners. Twenty-five of the 737s are firm and the rest are options, the airline said this week.
The MAX models are re-engined and upgraded versions of the 737, one of Boeing’s most popular aircraft and one that’s been in production since 1966. The newest versions have reduced operating costs and long range and will allow Malaysia to fly to more destinations, said CEO Peter Bellew in a statement this week. The airline also said it’s retiring its Boeing 777s.
Two the aircraft were lost, once of which disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014. Although debris from MH370 has been found, the actual wreckage of the airplane remains undiscovered. MH17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile under unknown circumstance in 2014 over Eastern Ukraine. Malaysia’s purchase of the 737s represents its first major business expansion on CEO Bellew’s watch.
