China Southern Airlines has said it has suspended its order for as many as 64 of the company's grounded 737 Max 8 aircraft.
Boeing's 737 Max has been grounded since March following two deadly crashes, with no word on when the aircraft will return to the skies.
"The order is no longer there," UK and Ireland key account manager Dean Saxby said. "Out of a fleet of more than 800 aircraft, it [the grounding of the Max 8s] hasn’t made a huge dent.
“With all the aircraft coming on and the A350s, those aircraft have plugged some of those holes and we’ve had very minimal disruption.”
The airline still plans to grow its fleet with more than 1,000 aircraft, with a goal in mind, set to be the end of next year.
In a further admission, Saxby reported said that the Chinese carrier is in negotiation with both London's Heathrow and airlines based there about the possibility of purchasing a third daily slot.
He added: “Head office certainly sees the London routes as a big part of that expansion, so we need that route soon.”