American to share its Boeing cash with workers

FORT WORTH — American Airlines said Thursday that it is negotiating with Boeing Co. over compensation for the airline’s grounded planes and will share some of the proceeds with its employees.

American had 24 Boeing 737 Max jets when the planes were grounded worldwide in March after two deadly crashes. Like other airlines, American has canceled thousands of flights as a result. It estimated that the grounding will cut its full-year 2019 pretax income by $540 million.

A spokesman for American said the airline is talking to Boeing “as to what that compensation looks like.” Boeing has suggested that compensation could be in cash or other forms, such as help with training or spare parts.

American expects to make part of the compensation eligible for employee profit sharing, the spokesman said without providing figures.

Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines Group Inc., said in October that he was confident that any losses caused by the grounding “won’t be incurred by American shareholders, but will be borne by the Boeing shareholders.”

Boeing has reached partial settlements with Southwest Airlines and Turkish Airlines — neither carrier disclosed details — while continuing to negotiate with others. Chicago-based Boeing has estimated the cost at $5.6 billion over several years.

It is unclear when the Max will fly again. Boeing is still working on software and computer updates to prevent a repeat of crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people. In both crashes, a key sensor malfunctioned and triggered an automated system to push the nose of the plane down, according to accident investigators.

The Federal Aviation Administration would have to approve Boeing’s changes to the Max before the plane can fly in the U.S.