Alaska Air Group revealed on Thursday that it received about $160 million from Boeing as initial compensation for the grounding of its fleet of 737 MAX 9 jets.
The 65 planes were grounded by the FAA after one of them lost the door plug covering a disabled emergency exit on January 5.
“As a result of the Flight 1282 accident and the Boeing 737-9 MAX grounding, we lost approximately $160 million in Q1 pretax profit,” the company said in a report to investors.
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Alaska further explained that additional compensation is expected in the future, but details remain confidential.
The compensation for the failure to assemble the aircraft and consequently the grounding should extend to other important 737 MAX customers such as United Airlines, Aeromexico and Copa Airlines.
At the time of the grounding, the FAA estimated that 171 MAX 9 jets would have to be inspected. They have a door plug in place of the emergency exit, used in configurations with more seats.
According to Reuters, Boeing had to reduce production of the 737 MAX drastically in recent weeks, which should impact future deliveries and the waiting list for the aircraft.
