Low-cost carrier buys 737 MAX 8s from Boeing in $5.9B deal

Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Boeing said it's received a new order for as many as 50 new 737 MAX 8 airliners -- the same model under scrutiny since the Lion Air disaster killed 189 people.

Jeju Air, a low-cost carrier in South Korea, will purchase 40 of the jets for $5.9 billion with the option to buy 10 more, Boeing said Monday.

"With Korea's growing commercial aviation market, we are excited to take the next step in expanding our business with the 737 MAX, a world-class airplane that will allow us to improve our operation and continue to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for our passengers," said President and CEO Seok-Joo Lee said. "The 737 MAX 8 and its superior performance and economics make it an ideal airplane to implement our growth strategy as we look to expand beyond Asia in the coming years."

This announcement came a day before Boeing was supposed to hold a conference call with airlines to squash fears about the safety of the MAX 8, following the crash of a Lion Air flight off Indonesia. The call was cancelled, Fox Business reported.

In an internal message to employees, CEO Dennis Muilenburg disputes claims that the airline hid information about a new flight control system that's been blamed for the Lion Air crash.

"That is simply untrue," Muilenburg told employees. "The relevant function [of the Maneuvering Characteristic Augmentation System] is described in the Flight Crew Operations Manual and we routinely engage with customers about how to operate our airplane safely".

Pilots groups said earlier this month they were not notified of the potential problem or the solution to fix it until after the Lion Air crash.

Experts said a faulty "angle of attack sensor can cause false readings and send the MAX 8 into a steep dive. The sensor provides data on the angle of wind passing over the airplane's wings. Lion Air flight 610 was traveling 600 mph when it hit the water, investigators have said.

Passengers and crew reported similar problems on the same Lion Air plane on previous flights.

Two weeks after the crash, Boeing released a safety bulletin for the MAX 8 that gave pilots instructions on how to deal with a sensor failure.

Shares of Boeing fell more than 1 percent early Tuesday and the manufacturer has lost more than $50 a share since Nov. 7 when details about the Lion Air crash were revealed.