Kenya Airways to Acquire 10 Boeing 737-800 MAX Jets despite Safety Concerns

National airline Kenya Airways (KQ) says it will not cancel the planned acquisition of Boeing 737-800 MAX jets.

Several countries including the US, UK, and China have grounded the aircraft following two fatal crashes involving the brand in less than six months.

KQ chairman Michael Joseph says the carrier will go ahead to acquire 10 of the planes for Sh120 billion ($1.2 billion).

“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,” Joseph says as quoted by the Business Daily.

“We hope that between now and the time when we are ready to acquire the new fleet, Boeing will have solved the current problem."

On Friday, Indonesian airline Garuda Indonesia announced the cancellation of its Sh600 billion ($6 billion) order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets.

The airline cited a loss of passenger trust following the two crashes involving 
Boeing 737-800 MAX jets belonging to Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air.

It became the first airline across the globe to cancel orders for the troubled jet.

This month, all the 157 people aboard the Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines plane perished after it crashed six minutes after taking off from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa.

The crash came five months after another accident involving the same type of plane belonging to Lion Air killed all the 189 people on board.

36 of those killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash were Kenyans. Initial investigations point out similarities in the circumstances surrounding the two crashes.
KQ does not operate any Boeing 737-800 Max at the moment, with Ethiopian Airlines being the only African carrier that owns this type of aircraft.