Ethiopian Airlines expects the settlement of the compensation package with Boeing, in relation to lost revenue owing to the grounding of the 737 MAX, by the end of June. The jets were grounded globally after the crash of one of the jets belonging to Ethiopian in March last year. The aircraft was the second 737 Max to crash in six months.
“We have invited Boeing to discuss compensation. It’s compensation for the grounded MAX … there is also compensation for delayed delivery of the MAX that was supposed to come and loss of revenue,” Ethiopian chairman Tewolde Gebremariam said in an interview. He added that he expects compensation to be agreed by the end of June.
Boeing has said that it is working closely with Ethiopian and hopes “to reach a fair and reasonable outcome.”
Ethiopian currently has four grounded MAX planes in its fleet and has taken delivery of five of the jets of a 30-plane order, including the MAX that crashed. The compensation sought relates only to financial losses incurred as a consequence of the grounding of the 737 MAX and does not relate to the crash itself. Ethiopian has decided not to pursue a lawsuit against Boeing for the accident as the American planemaker remains a “partner” and Ethiopian uses many of its planes. As a result, compensation may come in the form of cash or plane parts.
Since COVID-19, Ethiopian has converted 22 of its passenger jets to cargo planes to generate revenue.
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