Lion Air 'urgently requires' more Boeing 737 MAX jets, says co-founder

Lion Air would need to be satisfied with the outcome of negotiations with Boeing before taking the planes

Indonesia's Lion Air "urgently requires" more Boeing 737 MAX jets to support its growth strategy once regulators approve the grounded model's return to service, the airline's co-founder, Rusdi Kirana, told Reuters on Wednesday.

He said the airline, which had previously threatened to cancel its order for 187 jets worth $21 billion at list prices, would need to be satisfied with the outcome of negotiations with Boeing before taking the planes.

All 189 passengers and crew on board one of Lion Air's new 737 MAX jets died when the plane crashed into the Java Sea last October, the first of two deadly crashes that led to the global grounding of the model.