Boeing Reveals $100m 737 MAX Victim Fund After 2018's Record $101bn Revenue
Today Boeing revealed that they would provide $100 million in funds to victims of the pair of crashes of Boeing 737 aircraft in the last year. Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 resulted in the loss of a total of 346 lives. Divided 346 ways, $100 million comes to $289,017 per person.
The announcement was released today, the day before Independence Day in the USA. According to Boeing PR, "Boeing [NYSE: BA]* announced $100 million in funds to address family and community needs of those affected by the tragic accidents of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302."
*Yes indeed, the press release for the funds pledge did include the stock ticker code for the New York Stock Exchange listing of Boeing, the publicly-traded company. This isn't entirely strange, really – most press releases have this bit. This detail strengthens the feeling that Boeing's handling of this situation continues to feel extremely calculated and cold.
"The families and loved ones of those on board have our deepest sympathies," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman, president and CEO. "We hope this initial outreach can help bring them comfort." Of note: It's quite likely that accepting this money from Boeing will bar victims from further legal action against Boeing.
Lion Air Flight 610
• Aircraft: Boeing 737 MAX 8
• Time in air: 12-minutes
• Fatalities: 189 human lives lost
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
• Aircraft: Boeing 737 MAX 8
• Time in air: 6-minutes
• Fatalities: 157 human lives lost
The Boeing Company:
• 4th-quarter 2018 earnings: Record revenue, $28.3 billion
• Full-year 2018 earnings: Record revenue, $101.1 billion
"Boeing does not understand that the families at this point in time are not interested in its money," said Robert A. Clifford, lawyer for many families affected by the crash of the Boeing 737 Max8 aircraft in Ethiopia.
"The fact is that what is foremost on the minds of these families is getting back the human remains from the crash site," said Clifford. "To date that process has been torturously slow without a great deal of communication from Ethiopia. If Boeing really wanted to help, it would take all that money and devote it to accelerating the remains recovery/identification process for these families."