The big aviation company Boeing has given $160 million to Alaska Airlines as payment for not being able to use its 737 Max 9 planes after a door panel came off a plane in early January.
According to a recent report from the airline, Boeing paid the money because the airline’s performance in the first quarter was greatly affected when the door panel fell off the plane after taking off from a Portland, Ore., airport. This caused all of its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes to be not allowed to fly.
The airline said it thinks Boeing will give more money beyond the first quarter amount.
Even though the door incident and the grounding happened, Alaska Airlines said it had a strong demand for travel within the quarter and saw the West Coast business travel getting better.
“Even though we did have some people not booking after the accident and the 737-9 MAX planes not being allowed to fly, February and March were both better than what we originally expected before the planes were not allowed to fly because of these main improvements,” the report said.
The report is the first look at what Boeing is doing to make up for several months of problems and more attention from customers and government agencies.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) started a criminal investigation into Boeing in early March after the midair blowout. The DOJ has talked to pilots and flight attendants on the flight after the company admitted that it couldn’t find records for work done on the door panel, which the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) asked for.
The NTSB began an investigation into the incident shortly after it happened. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also checking how safe Boeing is overall. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said there are issues at Boeing “around the safety culture.”
Congress has also considered having more government oversight for Boeing following the blowout and other well-known accidents lately. Lawmakers have made it clear they want to see changes soon, and there may be new laws to make sure it happens.
