IAG signs LOI for 200 737MAX - some for BA LGW
 

IAG has signed an LOI for 200 737MAX to be shared between the -8 and -10 models. Delivery scheduled from 2023.

Willie Walsh has said "We will use across group with Level, Vueling, & BA at Gatwick"


An interesting development. I wonder how good a deal he got considering he is the first to order following the grounding.

Leaving aside the obvious MAX issues, this one goes against the narrowbody strategy chosen by BA for the past 20 years. Willie and his cronies at IAG must've gotten them for dimes.

The disadvantage of the NEO selling like hot cakes...

Still, new equipment for LGW at long last.

At least it makes a change for Gatwick to be getting some new aircraft, rather than Heathrow's unwanted leftovers ;)

I suppose with deliveries being 4 years away that should at least give Boeing time to fix the bugs that made them crash. By then I guess Boeing will have rebranded MAX to something else in the hope that passengers forget about what happened.

I was expecting this to have come from @alexcruzmaybe !

All purchases are made by IAG; even when BA buys software or smaller equipment, the contract is either done on behalf of the group or by group procurement folks. Alex is less a CEO and more like a proconsul.

Double dipped discount -

Major Airbus A320 customer
First Large Max Order Since Grounding

I thought BA didn't do containerised baggage at LGW?

Hopefully not coming soon (at speed) to a smouldering crater in the ground near you.

Must have been offered at a very keen price.

It'll need several years of incident-free operation of these (or whatever they rebrand them as) before I will consider setting foot on one.

Walsh says he believes it *is* a great aircraft?! If he'd said *will be* that could at least be arguable, but at the moment every 737 MAX worldwide *is* a very expensive paperweight.

Very poor judgement IMO.

The 737 MAX makes concerns about battery issues on the 787 years ago seem like mere trivialities.

It's a warmed over design with cost avoidance at its now tragic core. It does not appeal to me though I am sure that IAG got a good deal on them.

Boeing - and the FAA - have some serious work to do to rebuild confidence in their respective organisations.

Great marketing opportunity for easyJet at Gatwick.

Many will see this as IAG penny pinching reaching new levels, it's cheap so we'll have them.

I don't do Gatwick so this probably wont affect me but I cant say I would be willing to get on board one of these birds anytime soon. Not never but it would need to be flying a long time without incident to entice me on board.

BA clearly of the view that the deal they have got outweighs the risk of the "self loading freight" noticing what aircraft type it is and then knowing that two had crashed and others came close as a result of faulty software and keeping pilots in the dark.

I would be interested in BA pilots view and that of BALPA on this as one imagines even Walsh would have consulted on this with them ahead of putting name to paper.