Alaska Airlines received $160 million from Boeing for a torn hatch plug – Kommersant

Alaska Airlines reportedthat it received initial compensation from Boeing for the incident in early January. Then the emergency exit hatch cover of the 737 MAX 9 aircraft, owned by an American airline, fell off, which led to depressurization of the cabin.

As the airline said in a statement, as a result of the incident it lost about $160 million in potential profits in the first quarter. These are lost profits, costs due to flight cancellations and aircraft repair costs. Boeing already offset this amount in cash in the first quarter, but the airline expects to receive additional compensation payments.

At the same time, Alaska Airlines worsened its forecast for the results of the first quarter. The company expects a loss of $1.05–1.15 per share instead of $0.45–0.55 per share previously forecast.

After the Alaska Airlines incident It revealedthat the hatch covers on many Boeing 737s were installed improperly. Also on liners showed up and other problems with the fuselage. At the end of March Boeing announced about the resignation of CEO David Calhoun and several other top managers of the company. Boeing evaluates own financial losses from the incident amounted to $4–4.5 billion.

Read about whether the new management of Boeing will be able to correct the reputation of the corporation in the Kommersant FM article. “Boeing is passing the helm to new hands”.

Kirill Sarkhanyants