BA Boeing Co

By Kimberley Kao and Ben Otto

Boeing will sell 150 of its 737 MAX aircraft to India's Akasa Air, giving a fillip to the U.S. manufacturer as it faces pressure from regulators over a structural failure involving one of its jets.

Akasa Air, India's newest airline, said Thursday that it will acquire a mix of single-aisle MAX 10 and MAX 8-200 jets, boosting its overall Boeing order book to more than 200 as it seeks to expand to international destinations. Deliveries are slated through 2032.

The deal is Boeing's first major order win since a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet midair earlier this month. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded about 170 MAX 9 jets after the accident and emergency landing. On Wednesday, it said the aircraft would be barred from carrying passengers until it studied data related to inspections of the plane's door plugs.

The Akasa Air order doesn't include the MAX 9 variant of the fuel-efficient family of jets.

Akasa Air, which placed its first order for Boeing MAX aircraft in 2021 and launched in August 2022, currently has a fleet of 22 jets. The low-cost airline offers services to 18 cities across India and plans to expand into the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Its order comes after a raft of megadeals in India's fast-growing aviation market. Last year, Air India ordered 470 jets from Boeing and Airbus, the largest deal for commercial aircraft in aviation history until several months later, when discount airline IndiGo made a deal for 500 Airbus jets.

Boeing shares were about 2.0% higher in premarket trading.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com and Ben Otto at ben.otto@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2024 05:58 ET (10:58 GMT)

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