The Wall Street Journal: American Airlines reaches 737 Max settlement with Boeing

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American Airlines Group Inc. AAL, -1.19%   said Monday that it has reached a deal with Boeing Co BA, +0.29%   to be compensated for damage from the grounding of the 737 Max last year.

The carrier didn’t disclose the terms of its deal, but said it would receive compensation over several years. American said it would share $30 million of the settlement with employees through its 2019 profit-sharing program, which it expects to distribute in March.

The Max has been grounded since March following two fatal plane crashes within five months, and the costs to airlines have been climbing. Boeing has so far earmarked $6.1 billion to pay customers through a mix of cash, discounts and in-kind benefits.

The grounding has crimped airlines’ growth plans and cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost earnings. American had 24 Max jets in its fleet at the time of the grounding and was supposed to have 40 by the end of last year. It has said the grounding would decrease its 2019 earnings by $540 million.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

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