LOT Polish Airlines continues to voice its dissatisfaction with Boeing about the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX and the issues surrounding the Boeing 787. This time, LOT’s CEO Rafał Milczarski said that the airline would “not let go of anything” that Boeing owes it.
LOT Polish will not give up on compensation
Rafał Milczarski, the CEO of Poland’s flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines, has once again voiced the airline’s dissatisfaction with Boeing over the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, in addition to the ongoing issues surrounding the Boeing 787.
Speaking to journalists at Expo 2020, for which LOT Polish launched a new route from Warsaw to Dubai, onet reports Milczarski saying (translated):
“We are conducting and have conducted talks with Boeing about the issue. So far, these talks have not resulted in an outcome we expected, so we will be using all available solutions to obtain compensation.”
Milczarski did not reveal the details of these talks, but he did add the following:
“I think we will find a solution. (…) We will not let go and we cannot let go of anything that Boeing owes us.”
He stated that LOT Polish Airlines suffered large losses as a result of the Boeing 737 MAX grounding and that it is only “normal” for the airline to make a financial claim against Boeing.
LOT aired its dissatisfaction last month
Last month, it emerged that LOT Polish was so frustrated with Boeing over not being paid compensation for the MAX grounding that it was considering becoming an Airbus customer. Currently, LOT operates no Airbus aircraft in its fleet and all its jetliners are Boeing types.
LOT Polish Airlines did not receive any compensation for its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft being grounded for two years because there are no written guarantees in its leasing contract that compensation is due as a result of technical problems.
Boeing is now relying on this fact to deny LOT compensation. Although the matter appears reasonably straightforward, LOT does not think so. Krzysztof Moczulski, the spokesman, said at the time:
“We are in the process of negotiations, but at the same time we are considering a lawsuit.”
LOT decided not to pick up two 787s
LOT Polish also continues to be frustrated with Boeing over the ongoing issues with the 787s. These issues have caused operational difficulties for LOT Polish Airlines, including the delay of a new long-haul route launch to China.
Last month, it was revealed that LOT had decided it would not be picking up the two Boeing 787 aircraft that are parked in the Mojave Desert in the United States and waiting to be delivered.
The reason that LOT cited for this is that the long-haul market out of and into Europe continues to be deeply affected by the ongoing travel restrictions.
How do you think LOT’s expectations of compensation payments from Boeing will play out? Let us know what you think of this story in the comments below.
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