Indonesia's national airline has sent a letter to Boeing,
expressing its desire to cancel the remainder of a $4.9 billion, 50 aircraft order
of 737 Max aircraft that it made in 2014, numerous media sources have reported.
Garuda Indonesia has taken delivery of just one of those
aircraft. "Many passengers told us they were afraid to get on a
Max 8," CEO Ari Askhara told Reuters on Friday.
The airline is the first to publicly declare its intent to
cancel Max orders following the March 10 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight
302, which killed 157 passengers. The crash was the second for a Max 8 since
late October and led to the grounding of Max 8 aircraft worldwide.
Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan has told various media outlets
that the airline is scheduled to meet with Boeing representatives to discuss
the order on March 28. Garuda's media team didn't immediately respond to a Travel
Weekly inquiry Friday morning.