We told you the orders were coming but even I didn’t expect such a large order to be placed for the 737Max. As expected, Aviation Capital Group has confirmed its commitment to purchase 35 737Max and a firm order for 20 737-800s. Although this significant commitment for the Max from the first aircraft leasing company has been overshadowed by the bumper commitment announced from Lion Air for 201 737Max and 29 737-900ERs, with options on a further 150 aircraft.
Despite the historic nature of this order, the skeptics out there in Twitterland have refused to credit Boeing for such a significant deal. Ok so it is only a commitment and forms part of the 700 Max orders Boeing has already confirmed but not identified, but the deal will get done. And most likely the deal will be financed using Ex-Im support. That is unless the ATA’s lawsuit against the US export credit bank is successful. This news service is speaking to all the parties involved in this situation today and will bring you the full story as soon as we can. It seems though that despite the new Aircraft Sector Understanding increasing pricing of export credit deals, airlines falling under the home rule exclusion are still bitter about other airlines receiving such support to the detriment of their business. Make no mistake, this argument is about the access to export credit but it’s also a bit of bad blood between one US airline being forced to cancel one NYC-India route, while state-supported Air India remains strong on the same route. Watch this space.