Lion Air could help launch Boeing 737 MAX 10: sources

Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air may be a launch customer for the Boeing 737 MAX 10, a larger version of the planemaker's medium-haul family that is expected to be launched at the Paris Airshow, three people familiar with the plans said. The order may, however, include some upgrades from a smaller model, two of them said. The two companies declined to comment. Indian budget carrier SpiceJet is also among carriers seen as potential targets for the aircraft, a version designed to seat up to 230 people and blunt strong sales of the Airbus A321neo, two of the sources said. Lion Air, which is one of Boeing's largest customers, ordered 201 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2012 and placed options for a further 150. Such orders typically include the right to convert between different variants of each model. Other airlines are looking at the Boeing 737 MAX 10, but some are nervous about committing to a new variant given patchy sales of some current models of the 737 MAX, whose success rests mainly on sales of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, the sources said.<br/>