Boeing has revealed that it will resell some 737 MAX jets destined for Chinese customers. The statement was made by CEO Dave Calhoun and CFO Brian West at an event in the US.
“We’ll do it in a very slow way because I want to protect our customers in China but you can’t wait forever. You’ve got to move them and there is a big market,” said Calhoun.
The planemaker said in July that it has about 290 of the model aircraft ready for delivery, some of them to Chinese airlines.
CAAC, China’s civil aviation agency, approved the 737 MAX’s return to service in December 2021 after being the first authority to suspend flights following the aircraft’s second fatal accident in 2019.
Despite this, the increasingly strained relationship between Washington and Beijing has led the Biden administration to accuse China of preventing Chinese carriers from delivering and ordering Boeing planes.
In July, three of the country’s biggest airlines, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, placed orders for 292 Airbus A320neo jets.
According to Boeing, there were 116 737 MAX orders pending delivery through the end of August.
