Turkish Airlines says Boeing to compensate over Max

Istanbul: Turkish Airlines said on Tuesday that it has reached a partial agreement with Boeing over compensation for damages caused by the grounding of the airline’s Boeing 737 Max jets.

The airline did not disclose financial terms of the agreement.

Between 2013 and 2015, Turkish Airlines ordered 75 Max jets. It received only 12 before Boeing halted deliveries in March after regulators around the world grounded the plane following two crashes that killed 346 people.

In a regulatory filing, the airline said the agreement covered “certain portion of the losses” related to the Max. It was not clear what was covered and whether the airline is seeking additional compensation. The airline’s media representatives did not respond to requests for information. Boeing declined to comment on private discussions with a customer.

Reports in Turkish media put Boeing’s payment in cash, training expenses and repair parts anywhere between $120 million to $225 million. The reports could not be verified.

Chicago-based Boeing has estimated that it will pay $5.6 billion over the next few years to compensate airlines for their losses from cancelling thousands of flights. Boeing is seeking to limit the amount of compensation paid out in cash by also offering discounts and services.

Boeing has been updating flight-control software and computers in a bid to get the Max back in the air, but the company’s expectations for a relatively short turnaround have been dashed repeatedly.

The Federal Aviation Administration is unlikely to approve Boeing’s changes until late February or March at the earliest, and regulators in other countries are expected to take even longer before letting the plane fly again.

Shares of Boeing slipped 60 cents to $325.80. They ended the year up 1 per cent but fell 27 per cent from their peak in March, just before the second Max crash.