India’s newest airline orders 150 Boeing Max aircraft, in good news for plane maker

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — India’s newest airline says it will buy 150 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, in the first major announced sale for the manufacturer since a panel blew out of another Max model in midflight earlier this month. Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube announced the order of the Boeing 737 Max 10 and 737 Max 8-200 planes at an airshow in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. He says the airplanes will increase the airline’s total Boeing orders to 226. It currently operates a fleet of 22 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes. None of the planes are the same model as the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 on which a door plug blew out earlier this month, leaving a hole in the plane.