Kuwait’s Alafco reduces order book from 40 to 20 Boeing 737 aircraft

Kuwait’s Alafco Aviation Lease and Financing Company has halved its order book of 40 Boeing 737 aircraft.

The two sides entered an agreement following which Alafco has discontinued its legal claim against Boeing.

In April, the Kuwaiti company filed a $336m lawsuit against Boeing over a breach involving a 737 MAX aircraft contract alleging that alleged that Boeing failed to return payment on undelivered 737 Max 8 jets.

Following the agreement, Alafco will now buy 20 aircraft from Boeing and the companies also amended the delivery dates for the order.

Alafco said that the order reduction is in line with the current market dynamics.

In a bourse filing, the Kuwaiti lessor said that it ‘is looking forward to a long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationship with Boeing’.

The two sides did not provide additional information related to the agreement citing confidentiality clauses as the reason.

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

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently proposed four design changes to address the unsafe condition of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft, which have been grounded since last March following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people.