BENGALURU – Indian budget airline SpiceJet said on Wednesday U.S. planemaker Boeing had agreed to settle the outstanding claims related to the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft.
The announcement from the country’s second-largest airline comes a day after billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX jets valued at nearly $9 billion at list prices.
“Boeing has agreed to provide certain accommodations and settle the outstanding claims related to the grounding of 737 MAX aircraft and its return to service,” SpiceJet said in a filing to the domestic stock exchanges.
The settlement will allow the resumption of new aircraft deliveries from SpiceJet’s order of 155 MAX aircraft, the airline said, adding that it will also pave the way for inducing “efficient and younger MAX aircraft” into its fleet.
SpiceJet is Boeing’s biggest customer in the South Asian nation for the MAX planes.
India’s air safety regulator had cleared in August the 737 MAX aircraft to fly after a near two-and-a-half-year regulatory grounding following two fatal crashes in 2019.
SpiceJet shares were trading down 2.1% as of 0355 GMT in a weak Mumbai market
(Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Uttaresh.V)
