Lion Air is reviewing airplane purchases from Boeing and has not ruled out cancelling orders as relations worsen in a spat over responsibility for a 737 jetliner crash in late October. Co-founder Rusdi Kirana is furious over what he regards as attempts by Boeing to deflect attention from recent design changes and blame Lion Air for the crash, while the airline faces scrutiny over its maintenance record and pilots' actions. Kirana is examining the possibility of cancelling remaining orders of Boeing jets "from the next delivery," according to a person familiar with his thinking. No final decision has been made, but discussion over the fate of US$22b of remaining orders highlights the stakes surrounding an investigation involving Boeing’s fastest-ever selling jet, the 737 MAX, which entered service last year. <br/>
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In the latest of a series of recent European airline failures, Lithuania-based leisure operator Small Planet Airlines has ceased operating. The carrier, which had been affected by the knock-on effects of its Polish and German sister airlines hitting financial difficulties, was undergoing restructuring. “Small Planet Airlines flights are not operating any more...We say a big ‘thank you’ to all passengers who were with us for more than 10 years,” a message on the carrier's website stated. Lithuanian civil aviation regulator, the National Aviation Administration, said Small Planet’s operating license had been suspended from 00.01hrs Nov 29. The Lithuanian company operated a fleet of 8 Airbus A320s. Combined with its various subsidiaries, that number rose to more than 20 A320-family aircraft. <br/>
The interim CE of SA Express, Siza Mzimela, says that the company will break even by April and will not require further state support. Mzimela made the case for the continued existence of the troubled airline, the future of which is in doubt as cabinet mulls a plan to restructure the state-owned airline business. Among the issues that need to be decided on is whether SA Express should become a subsidiary of SAA, whether it should be collapsed into SAA or whether it should be shut down entirely. The company has delivered large losses over the past few years and was grounded by the SA Civil Aviation Authority in May. Key to the success of SA Express as a stand-alone enterprise is whether the national treasury, which gave it a ZAR1.24b bailout in October, will be flexible on the conditions of the bailout. <br/>