Norwegian takes first legal action against Boeing over 737 Max

Norwegian Air Shuttle has become the first airline to launch legal action against Boeing over the grounding of its 737 Max aircraft, as well as hitting the US plane maker with the biggest cancellation of its troubled jet so far.  The carrier said it has issued a notice to Boeing that it will terminate the remaining 92 737 Max aircraft it had on order as well as its last five 787 planes.  Norwegian’s lawsuit comes as Boeing began on Monday a critical step for returning the Max to service: certification flights overseen by the US FAA. The company, which restarted Max production in May, has said it expects to start delivering to customers by the third quarter, if it receives FAA approval. Airline regulators around the world grounded the 737 Max in March 2019 following the second of two crashes in five months that killed a combined 346 people. Norwegian said late Monday it had filed a legal claim seeking the return of pre-delivery payments related to the aircraft and compensation for the airline’s losses related to the grounding of the 737 Max and engine issues on the 787. The airline has 18 737 Max aircraft already.  It said: “Norwegian has engaged in a commercial dialogue with Boeing with a view to resolving its 787 and 737 Max issues and obtaining compensation for its losses. The dialogue has [yet to date] not led to an agreement with a reasonable compensation to the company.” <br/>