Southwest flight attendants sue Boeing for ‘concealing’ 737 Max defects

Eight flight attendants at Southwest Airlines are suing Boeing more than a year after its 737 Max jet was grounded, saying the airplane maker “concealed design and safety defects” from Southwest, airline employees and the public.

The suit, which is seeking class-action status, includes flight attendants from six states, including two from Texas.

“In addition to concealing the known design and safety defects, Boeing doubled down by misrepresenting to the world that the 737 Max was a safe aircraft,” the lawsuit complaint said.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, where Boeing is headquartered. A spokesman for Transport Workers Union Local 556, which represents Southwest’s 16,000 flight attendants, said the union wasn’t aware of the lawsuit.

Boeing declined to comment on the suit. Pilots, consumers, and shareholders are already suing Boeing as the jet remains grounded.

Southwest, based in Dallas, said it lost more than $450 million through the first three quarters of 2019 because it was short airplanes without the 737 Max.

Boeing’s signature, workhorse 737 Max was grounded on March 13, 2019, after plane crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed 346 passengers and crew members. Boeing is still working with the Federal Aviation Administration to recertify the plane and overhaul a flawed anti-stall software system that, when paired with a bad sensor, helped cause the crashes.

After being grounded, Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft is parked on the tarmac at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville.

Southwest only uses 737 planes and was depending on the newest variant, the Max, to reduce fuel costs in the years ahead. It has more of the aircraft than any other carrier with 34 but was supposed to get at least 40 more by the end of 2019.

Boeing said it hopes the FAA will recertify the 737 Max in mid-2020.

Much of the lawsuit from the eight flight attendants hinges on damaging congressional testimony and documents made public last fall, including documents that showed Boeing test pilots and other employees had long expressed concerns about the 737 Max’s anti-stall software.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association is also suing Boeing for more than $100 million in lost wages and other damages, as are groups of shareholders and consumers who say they were misled into buying tickets, traveling on planes and investing in a company flying the flawed aircraft.

Southwest and Boeing came to a financial agreement in December that compensated the company for 2019 losses, and CEO Gary Kelly said it would negotiate more based on this year’s losses. Southwest added $125 million to the profit-sharing pot for employees from the Boeing settlement.

Much of the rest of the compensation came from discounts on pending aircraft orders. www.dallasnews.com