Shuttered Kulula.com operator Comair sues Boeing for R1.4bn over airplane ‘deception’

A shuttered South African airline sued Boeing for fraud over its agreement to buy eight 737 MAX planes and seeks damages of at least $83 million (R1.4 billion).

Boeing “placed profits over safety and led with a plan of deception,” Comair’s suit filed Monday in US District Court in Seattle said. Boeing declined to comment.

Comair said Boeing committed fraud over its failure to disclose problems with a key flight control system tied to two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people and led to the MAX’s 20-month grounding.

Comair operated flights for British Airways and its own brand Kulula.com until it halted operations in June.

READ | Comair legal battle against Boeing edges forward

The airline said Boeing refused to return $45.2 million in advance payments it made on seven MAX planes. It had paid for and received one 737 MAX.

Polish national airline PLL LOT sued Boeing in late 2021 in Seattle on similar grounds over 737 MAX purchases and the suit is pending.

LOT in October asked a U.S. judge in Texas to declare it was a crime victim in the Boeing 737 MAX criminal case and said it has at least $250 million in damages.

US District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled in October people killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are legally “crime victims.” LOT argued it should have the same rights.

READ | Comair liquidation on ice as talks with those interested in buying parts of company continue

Last month, Boeing pleaded not guilty to a 737 MAX fraud conspiracy felony charge after families objected to a 2021 Justice Department deferred prosecution agreement to resolve the investigation into the plane’s flawed design.

O’Connor had ordered the arraignment. O’Connor is weighing a request from families to appoint an independent examiner to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement. Boeing opposes the request and says it has been in compliance with the agreement for the last two years.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred

In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. Journalism strengthens democracy. Invest in the future today. Thereafter you will be billed R75 per month. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won’t be billed.