Boeing’s 737 Max is making a comeback after two crashes that killed a total of 346 people in late 2018 and early last year. Ireland’s Ryanair, a major European carrier, has ordered 75 of the planes, which had been grounded since March 2019, the two companies announced on Thursday.
The order — estimated at more than $7 billion — comes just two weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared the 737 Max to resume passenger service — and as the coronavirus pandemic has sharply curtailed airline passenger demand.
“I can’t tell you how confident we are in the safety of this aircraft,” Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary said at a signing ceremony in Washington. “This is the most scrutinized, most audited aircraft in history.”
In a statement O’Leary said that he expected the rapid return of flights, likely in 2021, after COVID-19 vaccines roll out and the pandemic recedes.
The FAA and other aviation authorities around the world ordered the 737 Max grounded in March 2019, after one of the planes operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed, killing all 157 people on board. That catastrophe came less than five months after a 737 Max operated by Lion Air crashed in Indonesia, killing 189 people.
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