Local carrier to take delivery of Boeing Max aircraft

Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, has disclosed plans to add a brand new Boeing 737-Max aircraft to its fleet and operations.

The airline said though the aircraft type had serious safety concerns, it had not cancelled its earlier orders for10 for the state-of-the-art airplanes.

Air Peace, in September 2018, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Boeing to acquire 10 new Boeing 737-Max aircraft for its international operations.

The aircraft type soon attracted global safety concerns following two fatal crashes in less than six months. The series was grounded, globally, for almost two years during which efforts were made to correct manufacturer errors.

Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said that the aircraft order subsists and that the timeline for its delivery would soon be announced.

Onyema said that the airline planned to replace the older aircraft in its fleet, largely made up of B737 classics, with the Boeing 737 Max, Embraer E195-E2, and Embraer 145, to provide international, regional, and local services.

“We are not phasing out our Boeing aircraft. Part of our business plan is that as we are getting the brand new planes, we would be phasing out the old ones. But remember that we are bringing in a brand new Boeing 737 Max. We are still a member of the Boeing family,” he said.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) lately cleared the Max planes to operate in Nigerian Airspace. By the approval, foreign airlines could fly the aircraft type in and out of Nigeria, while local carrier, Air Peace, can also freely take delivery of its 737 Max orders from Boeing.

The apex regulatory body, in a memo, stated that the Boeing series was welcome following recent approvals and reentry conditions of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), last November, gave the green light to troubled 737 Max airliners to resume passenger flights.

Boeing was criminally charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States by the Department of Justice and will have to pay a $2.5 billion fine for lying to the FAA before and after the fatal 737 Max crashes in late 2018 and early 2019.