TUI Group may extend MAX contingency plans through summer season

TUI Group will decide by the end of May whether to extend contingency plans put in place to offset the impact of the grounding of its 15 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. If it does not become clear during May that the MAXs will resume operations by mid-July, TUI will need to extend the measures through the summer season, the company said May 15. The group’s MAXs, which comprise about 10% of its fleet, served the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. After the worldwide MAX groundings, TUI began using spare aircraft in its fleet, extended expiring leases for aircraft that were supposed to be replaced by MAX aircraft and leased additional aircraft. The grounding has been costly, with the group expecting a one-off impact of E200m (US$223m). <br/>