China Eastern airlines yesterday became the first Chinese airline to formally file a claim against Boeing. Today, Air China and China Southern Airlines formally filed a claim against Boeing for the loss caused by the prolonged grounding of Boeing 737MAX aircraft and the failure to deliver orders on time. At present, Air China and China Southern airlines have formally sent a letter to Boeing to claim compensation for the loss caused by the grounding of Boeing 737MAX and the delayed delivery of the earlier ordered 737MAX.

China southern has suspended commercial operations of 24 Boeing 737MAX aircraft since March 11. It is understood that China Southern airlines has asked Boeing to negotiate compensation plans as soon as possible. China Eastern, Air China and China Southern were in preliminary discussions last week to jointly seek compensation from Boeing for grounding the 737 MAX. All three major Chinese airlines have filed claims against Boeing over the grounding of the 737MAX.

When asked about China Eastern airlines' claim against Boeing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing on Monday that Boeing's 737 MAX planes were grounded worldwide because of safety risks, and that technical problems have not been resolved yet. We are not in a position to comment on business practices between companies. But I believe everyone will agree that there is nothing wrong with any corporation claiming its legitimate and reasonable interests under the law.

According to the data, the three major airlines account for 53 of the 96 737MAX planes grounded in China so far.

Civil aviation experts said: aircraft during the mothballing period grounding loss and maintenance costs, plus some companies' financial leasing costs, the amount is very large, the financial impact of airlines is also obvious, so the possibility of airlines to Boeing compensation is more clear. Under the old rules, if the aircraft manufacturer caused financial losses to the airline because of product design or quality problems, it would face large claims; Aircraft manufacturers also face government penalties, often substantial.