by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:59 AM ET, Thu June 20, 2019
Boeing officials announced Thursday at the 2019 Paris Airshow that the company is in negotiations with several airlines interested in buying 737 MAX planes despite the fleet still being grounded.
According to ABCNews.com, Boeing Senior Vice President Ihssane Mounir said airlines from around the world are considering new 737 MAX orders to "get ahead of their plans."
The airplane manufacturer announced Tuesday it had signed a letter of intent with IAG, owner of British Airways and several other carriers, for the purchase of 200 MAX jets worth around $24 billion at current list prices.
The deal between Boeing and IAG is subject to final agreement, but it is a significant boost for a company still recovering from the tragic Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes which left 346 people dead.
"We were very glad and very humbled and deeply honored," Mounir said in a statement.
Just before the start of the Paris Airshow, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg addressed the controversy surrounding the company's apparent failure to report a faulty sensor in the 737 MAX aircraft.
Muilenburg referred to the "angle of attack (AOA) disagree alert" in question-a crucial safety feature of the 737 MAX-the functional failure of which is suspected of having played a part in the Lion Air crash of October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines crash in March 2019.
Muilenburg conceded that engineers discovered in 2017 that the alert light did not work as intended, and he said he was "disappointed" that Boeing did not work to make the information more public.
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