Virgin cuts, delays Boeing 737 MAX order as grounded jet returns to skies

Virgin Australia has renegotiated its multibillion-dollar order of Boeing's grounded 737 MAX aircraft, with the carrier slicing its delivery in half to just 25 planes which will start arriving in mid-2023. The airline first placed an order for 737 MAX aircraft in 2012 but has repeatedly pushed back delivery as it struggled financially and then after the best-selling short-haul jet was grounded globally last year following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. With US aviation safety authorities last month clearing the aircraft to return to service following design updates and additional pilot training, Virgin said overnight that it would accept the first of its 25 new 737 MAX 10 planes in 2023. Virgin's original order of 23 smaller 737 MAX 8 which were due to arrive in the middle of 2021 has been scrapped. The 25 larger MAX 10 planes were originally due to arrive in 2025. "The MAX 10 will allow us to build on the operational flexibility we have been able to achieve with our existing fleet... to ensure we remain competitive on the other side of COVID-19," Virgin CE Jayne Hrdlicka said. "The restructured agreement and changes to the delivery schedule... gives us the flexibility to continually review our future fleet requirements, particularly as we wait for international travel demand to return." Virgin, which went into voluntary administration in April and is now owned by US private equity giant Bain Capital, has stripped its domestic fleet back from around 80 jets to just 56 older variant 737s and also shut down its long-haul operations.<br/>