Boeing was sued for US$336m Wednesday by a Kuwaiti leasing company that accused it of wrongly refusing to return advance payments on a now-canceled order for 40 of its troubled 737 MAX planes. In a complaint filed in Chicago federal court, ALAFCO Aviation Lease and Finance Co accused Boeing of breach of contract for keeping the payments despite being unable to deliver the planes or provide a revised delivery schedule. ALAFCO said it cancelled its order March 6 after Boeing failed to deliver 9 aircraft on time. It said Boeing has resisted its claim that the problems amounted to a "non-excusable delay" that would justify repayment. Boeing suspended 737 MAX deliveries in March 2019. It is now also struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, which forced it to cut production. <br/>
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All of the UK’s biggest airlines and most big holiday companies are systematically breaking the law by denying timely refunds to customers for travel cancelled during the pandemic, researchers have found. Consumer groups have warned that the sector risks permanently losing public confidence in booking travel, with Which? finding 20 of the UK’s largest operators are illegally withholding refunds that should be paid within 14 days. Most have instead offered vouchers or credit notes, and customers have complained they have been unable to obtain refunds online or get through to make a claim on the phone. According to the travel industry’s own estimates, up to GBP7b could be owed for cancelled trips. However, industry bodies say firms would be bankrupted by repaying now as they are receiving no booking revenue. <br/>
European transport commissioner Adina Valean has signalled that guidelines will be set out by mid-May regarding an exit strategy to restart cross-border operations including air travel, but stresses that the timing depends on the health situation. While speaking Wednesday, she was reluctant to pre-empt the finalisation of specific measures allowing flights to resume but indicated there would be guidelines on restoring travel and tourism this season, through such measures as social distancing, rules within airports and on board aircraft – covering such aspects as disinfection – and the wearing of protective equipment. “Probably by mid-May we can put forward the strategy we’re working on,” she says, adding that it would feature “horizontal principles” of rules to be respected while re-opening travel connections. <br/>