Boeing loses $5.9 billion contract with Saudi airline

Boeing is facing cancellation of a lucrative contract with a Saudi airline.

Quartz reports that Flyadeal, a subsidiary of state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines, canceled a provisional order for 20 MAX 737s. This came from concerns over Boeing being able to deliver the planes in a timely fashion.

The list price for this order would normally run around $5.9 billion.

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“We understand that Flyadeal will not finalize its commitment to the 737 MAX at this time given the airline’s schedule requirements,” a Boeing spokesperson said, according to Reuters.

Instead, Flyadeal is going with the Airbus 320 fleet, in which they plan to add about thirty such jets.

A total of 189 people died in a Lion Air crash out of Indonesia on Oct. 29, 2018, when the plane nose-dived into the ocean. A total of 157 people died in a similar crash in Ethiopia. Like the Indonesian crash, the pilot of the plane in Ethiopia sent a distress call shortly after takeoff. Boeing is planning to pay out upwards of $100 million to the families of 737 Max crash victims.

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While the Flyadeal is a loss, recently Boeing acquired a letter of intent from IAG — which own British Airways — indicating an intention to buy 200 Boeing 737 Max aircraft in a deal worth billions.