Qatar Airways holds off on Boeing delivery until cause of 737 Max crashes is known

Qatar Airways has delayed the delivery of a Boeing 737 Max jet until the cause of the second fatal crash involving the plane in six months has been established.

Chief executive Akbar al-Baker said the shipment, due in April, will not go ahead “until we know exactly what the result of the investigation is and how long it will take the airplane to get airborne again”.

The airline has ordered 20 of the model.

The 737 Max range, Boeing’s new flagship plane designed to be a mainstay for decades to come, has been grounded by authorities across the globe after an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed on 10 March, killing 157 people.

Initial findings from a probe into an earlier 737 Max crash in Indonesia in October, which killed 189 people, found the aircraft’s anti-stall system may have caused the aeroplane to nosedive in a malfunction.

Ethiopian Airlines chief Tewolde GebreMariam said on Monday that the company “believes in Boeing,” despite the incidents.

He continued to rebuff criticism which first emerged last week that the pilot of the Ethiopian Airlines jet had not had a chance to practise on the airline’s simulator for the new Boeing model before the crash.

Captain Yared Getachew, 29, was scheduled to take a refresher course at the end of March, a colleague told Reuters, two months after the company had received the simulator.

The crew of flight 302 had been “fully trained” on updates issued after the Indonesia crash and “were trained on all appropriate simulators,” Said GebreMariam.

Boeing is partway through a group of sessions with pilots and operators from around the world who fly the 737 Max range, to review proposed changes to the anti-stall software.

The firm’s shares were up 0.5 per cent in pre-market trading this morning.

It follows the news American Airlines has extended its flight cancellation period to 24 April due to the grounding of the jets.

The US airline said it will cancel roughly 90 flights a day as its 24 Max jets remain grounded, while some flights scheduled for other models may also be cancelled.

Norwegian Air delays sales

Meanwhile embattled airline Norwegian Air has also said it will lease planes and postpone the sale of older models as it continues trying to mitigate the effects of grounding its 737 Max jets.

The budget carrier announced this morning it will hold off on selling six Boeing 737-800 jets, and use its fleet of bigger 787 Dreamliners on "high volume" routes, as it bids to prevent disruption to flights.

The company said the move would "add flexibility".

Norwegian has 18 of the 737 Max jets, making up about 11 per cent of its fleet. When it was forced to ground the model earlier this month, it led to speculation the airline could fall prey to a takeover bid after months of financial difficulties have driven its share price down.

Norwegian Air shares were valued at 48.9 Norwegian krones (£4.34) this morning, down on a high of 184 krones last spring.