The Kenya Airways has stated that it will continue on its plans to buy 10 Boeing 737-800 Max jets despite the global grounding of the plane that has had two fatal crashes within five months.
The airline’s Chairman, Michael Joseph, has said that it plans to order up to ten of the planes which are estimated to cost 120 billion shillings.
“The only option that we have planned for is the Boeing 737-800 Max because this will make it easier for us to conduct training and maintenance of the aircraft,” Mr. Joseph said during an interview with a local daily.
Garuda airline in Indonesia became the first carrier to announce the cancellation of its 600 billion shillings order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets. The Indonesian airline blamed the lack of trust by their clients in the Jets following the Jet crashes that have claimed over 300 lives.
Kenya was the hardest hit in the latest crash where 36 passengers perished without a single body for their families to bury as is a tradition in Africa.
“We hope that between now and the time when we are ready to acquire the new fleet, Boeing will have solved the current problem,” Mr. Michael said.
Boeing has reported its efforts of resolving issues suspected to be Software related causing 189 deaths in Indonesia’s Lion Air crash and 157 in Ethiopian’s airline.
Grounding and recalling of the Jet’s orders have cost the US jet fleet company trillions in shillings.
News of ordering 10 Jets from Boeing come at a time when families and friends of the 36 Kenyans who perished in the Ethiopian Plane crash are struggling to come into terms with their loss and can hence be viewed as insensitive.
Whether Kenyans and other passengers will ever agree to board the Boeing 737-800 Max jets after the trauma the most recent crash left remains to be seen.