Norwegian Air's stock rose by more than 6 percent on Thursday after it became clear that another airline, Turkish Airlines, had reached a settlement with Boeing regarding compensation for losses caused by the flight ban on the problematic 737 Max model.
According to the newspaper Hurriyet, Turkish Airlines has received around $225 million in compensation from Boeing, an amount that can be more directly used to calculate the compensation that Norwegian may receive from the American aircraft manufacturer.
”"This indicates a compensation from Boeing of around $335 million to Norwegian," said Hans Jørgen Elnæs, aviation analyst at Winair to E24.
Norwegian has been in talks with Boeing since the summer, as the timeline for when the aircraft model can be returned to service has been gradually moved forward by aviation authorities. The aircraft type was grounded in early 2019 after two crashes in a short period of time that killed 346 people and resulted in the firing of CEO Dennis Muilenberg over the Christmas holiday. The crashes are believed to have been caused by an autopilot system that was intended to maintain the plane's lift by automatically diving.
Boeing has been accused of defrauding both passengers and investors by failing to check and ensure the system's functionality and to update cockpit personnel before it entered service. The US aviation authority FAA has also been criticized for the certification process, and the EU's equivalent has said that the FAA's recertification will not be accepted outright without its own review, which is expected to further delay the return of the aircraft model to service.
The latest information from Norwegian on the matter came on December 18, when the company said it was in the final stages of negotiations.
In December, American Southwest became the first airline to reach a settlement with Boeing for the sum of $830 million.
Boeing's costs related to the flight ban have so far amounted to $9 billion.
Source: Nyhetsbyrån Direkt
