Chinese airlines mull teaming up for 737 Max compensation

Bloomberg

China’s biggest airlines are considering banding together to seek compensation from Boeing Co for the disruption caused by the grounding of the US aircraft manufacturer’s 737 Max, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Air China Ltd, China Southern Airlines Co and China Eastern Airlines Corp are exploring their legal options on how to coordinate their claims, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing private deliberations. The talks are preliminary and may not result in an agreement, the people said.
China’s “big three” state-run carriers are potentially a formidable force to contend with. They operate 53 of the 96 Max planes currently grounded in the country, according to data from VariFlight, a local aviation statistics company. The carriers also accounted for 65 percent of passengers who flew Chinese airlines in 2018, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
A coordinated approach could give the airlines more leverage to gain concessions as China’s influence in the aviation world keeps rising.
The country was the first major authority to ground Boeing’s top-selling 737 Max in March, despite assessments by the US authority at the time that the plane was safe to fly, and upending a decades-long tradition among air safety regulators.
Representatives from China Eastern, Air China, China Southern and Boeing declined to comment.
Chinese carriers including Xiamen Airlines Co, Hainan Airlines Holding Co, Shenzhen Airlines Co and Shandong Airlines Co have also taken delivery of the Max, while Ruili Airlines Co, Donghai Airlines Co and Okay Airways Co are awaiting their first jets.
It’s not unusual for Chinese carriers to coordinate. For example, they typically buy aircraft through a centralised, government controlled body, with planes later allocated to specific operators.

Boeing Max 737 grounding to cause ‘costs’ at Singapore Air
Bloomberg

Singapore Airlines predicts “significant” costs this year as the carrier incurs extra expenses to lease planes due to the indefinite grounding of Boeing Co 737 Max aircraft.
Southeast Asia’s largest airline will lease 10 to 12 Airbus SE A320 family narrow-body planes, Chief Financial Officer Stephen Barnes said in Singapore. It’s also extending some existing aircraft leases to cope with the idling of the Max as well as 787 planes due to faulty Trent 1000 engines used in the bigger aircraft.
The additional costs cast another dark cloud over the carrier following a 28 percent profit drop in the fourth quarter due to cargo volumes that were hurt by the US-China trade spat.
While passenger demand remains “fairly strong” across all travel classes, the company warned in its financial report that headwinds from higher oil prices could weigh on fares. Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong said Singapore Air is keeping its orderbook of 31 737 Max aircraft. The planes are used by its regional SilkAir brand, which currently has six of the jets in its fleet, all grounded.
SilkAir is being folded into the main airline as part of a company revamp that was announced last year.