Flyadeal, the low-cost Saudi Arabian airline, has cancelled an order for 30 Boeing 737 Max aircraft worth $5.9 billion.
Instead, flyadeal, which is controlled by state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines, will operate a fleet of Boeing’s archrival Airbus A320 planes.
The deal, which included an additional option to purchase 20 more 737 Max aircraft, was worth $5.9 billion at list prices, but the airline would have been offered a discount on that price tag.
Boeing said that flyadeal had decided not to go ahead with the provisional order because of "schedule requirements".
Flyadeal decision follows the crashes of two 737 Max jets, the first in Indonesia in October last year followed by one in Ethiopia in March this year, which killed 346 people.
The loss of Ethiopian Airlines' flight ET302 in March was the second fatal accident involving a Boeing’s 737 Max in the space of five months. Since then the aircraft has been grounded and Boeing has been working on a fix that will satisfy regulators.
Boeing has been working with regulators to roll out a software upgrade since the fateful crash but up to now, there is no date when the aircraft might be cleared to fly again.
Last week Boeing announced that it would give $100 million to help families affected by the two crashes.
The payment, stretching over several years, is independent of lawsuits filed in the wake of the disasters, which together killed 346 people.
Lawyers for victims' families dismissed the move.
