AerCap scraps order of 15 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft

Aircraft leasing company AerCap Holdings has cancelled orders of 15 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft as its pace of airplane deliveries has slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following this cancellation, the firm has 80 of the MAX jets in its order books.

Furthermore, AerCap has five MAX planes already on lease but is uncertain as to when these will return to service given that regulators are reviewing changes to the jet after two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed hundreds of people.

Last week, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed plans to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for Boeing 737 MAX Airworthiness Directive (AD).

Recently, Boeing reportedly planned to defer the production of new 777X aircraft as the pandemic has reduced demand.

In May, AerCap Holdings rescheduled the deliveries of 37 aircraft to 2023 and beyond as part of its strategy to reduce cash capital expenditures.

AerCap reported a drop in second-quarter net income to $246m from $331m in the same period last year due to the travel slump.

In a separate development, JetBlue Airways is set to test ultraviolet cleaning technology.

As part of this move, the company has collaborated with Honeywell in a pilot programme that will see eight of its UV cabin system units being rolled out at some of the airline’s hubs.

Approximately the size of a beverage cart, the Honeywell’s system can clean the cabin of a narrow-body aircraft in ten minutes.