Frankfurt (dpa) - US aeroplane manufacturer Boeing has lost its first customer to European rival Airbus since its 737 MAX aircraft were grounded worldwide shortly after a crash in March.
Saudi airline Flyadeal, which had made a preliminary agreement to order up to 50 jets of the 737 MAX series in December, will operate only Airbus planes in the future, the company said in a statement on Sunday.
It will now order 30 Airbus A320 NEO aircraft, the Jeddah-based company added.
Flyadeal will not carry out the order as outlined in the preliminary agreement, Boeing confirmed in a statement.
The 737 MAX series was grounded worldwide following two crashes involving the 737 MAX 8 variants of Boeing's best-selling jet, one in March in Ethiopia that killed 157 people and another in Indonesia in October that killed 189.
A software defect is considered to be the likely cause of the accidents.
The December agreement with Flyadeal was considered to be a breakthrough for the US company.
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