The Boeing 737 MAX crisis [4] resulted in one of the market's highest-ever aviation claims. The damage bill includes losses related to the two crashes, fleet immobilization, pilots training costs and cancellation of orders.
The recent extension of the aircraft's grounding by air regulators is expected to weigh heavily on this bill. No authorization to resume flights has been granted to-date. According to Standard and Poor's, it is therefore too early to estimate the global cost for insurers and reinsurers.
At present, Boeing's financial losses are estimated at 8 billion USD. This amount does not take into account the complaints of victims' families, the fines and the settlement of disputes. A reserve of 5.6 billion USD was set up to offset the airline losses.
Since mid-March 2019, thousands of flights have been cancelled due to the grounding of the 371 operating 737 MAX aircrafts.
737 MAX crisis: Boeing ready to pay 144 500 USD to victims' families
Boeing, which is going through a period of crisis, has proposed to pay 144 500 USD to each family of the 346 victims of the 737 MAX crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines. Claims can be filed until December 31, 2019. A fund of 100 million USD has been created by the aircraft manufacturer to meet the demands of the rights holders.
The American manufacturer indicates that this move is not intended to push victims' families to drop their lawsuits as the latter could claim higher compensations.