"The silver lining for Boeing is that a Lion Air cancellation would mean less exposure to an airline with dicey credit,” said Hamilton. “Plus, it would open up delivery slots for new orders in competition with the Airbus A320neo.”
According to two sources, Lion Air last year was in financial difficulties and was restructuring leases and considering deferring some orders. Many in the industry believe Boeing helped bail out the airline...
Others in the industry besides Hamilton agree that Lion Air is overstretched.
“They bit off more than they can chew,” said Adam Pilarski, an analyst with consultancy Avitas.
It may also be an opportune moment to cut some of Lion Air’s 188 unfilled MAX orders. Industry sources say it’s been clear for some time that the airline has ordered more planes than it can handle.
https://politicalreporter.net/2018/1...seattle-times/
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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Director of Lion Air Edward Sirait said that until now Lion Air has not changed the plan to order around 200 Boeing 737 Max. The planes will still be sent based on the agreement schedule of two companies. "Still, still (according to the original plan)," Edward said at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Jakarta, Tuesday, December 4, 2018.
https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/1152302/lion-air-pembelian-boeing-masih-sesuai-rencana/full&view=ok
Something doesn't add up about this whole deal. The Rupiah is down over 40% against the Dollar since 2011, the year the big Boeing deal was signed. Yet Lion Air flies a fleet of brand new jets with a subpar credit rating? Somebody is losing big money here.
Boeing doesn't seem to care about attributing blame to Lion Air. In other cases silence is the norm. Here Boeing commented on an ongoing investigation which is highly unusual. In the big picture the bad P/R may not be worth 188+/- sales with a 4,700+/- backlog on the books.
This doesn't absolve Boeing for not disclosing MCAS, but it just may help to explain how one plane lands and another crashes while facing the same set of issues.