Press Statement from Greater Bay Airlines

(7 January 2024) Flight safety is always the first priority at Greater Bay Airlines. We are highly concerned about the recent incident of Alaska Airlines. The airline will keep communicating with the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and follow up closely with The Boeing Company.

We are aware that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has immediately required airlines operating the MAX-9 aircraft to ground temporarily certain aircraft and carry out thorough inspections immediately. We will look at the relevant inspection results, findings of the FAA’s investigation and any further directives, before taking any appropriate follow-up actions with Boeing.

Greater Bay Airlines currently operates five Boeing 737-800 aircraft, the model of which is totally different from the one involved in the incident. With an operation history of more than 25 years, Boeing 737-800 NG has a safe and sound flying record. The purchase order of 15 737-9 aircraft from Boeing as announced by the airline in March 2023 will not start delivery until end of this year. According to the information available, the part detached from the fuselage is completely different from the emergency exit door design of the aircraft we ordered (the area reserved for an emergency exit was not used for provisioning of such an exit on the Alaska Airlines aircraft). We reiterate that flight safety is the top priority of Greater Bay Airlines and we will thoroughly follow up with Boeing.

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