Consumers Claim Southwest Airlines, Boeing Colluded to Cover Up 737 Max Dangers

A group of consumers is suing Southwest Airlines and Boeing in a Texas court because they say the companies knew long ago about dangers to the now-grounded Boeing 737 Max aircraft and still sold tickets to passengers.Eleven consumers from across the country filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court in Sherman against the airline and airplane manufacturer. Lawyers are pushing for class-action status to give refunds to potentially millions of customers, including those who flew on other airlines with Boeing 737 Max jets. Southwest operated the most Max aircraft, followed by American and United airlines."People would not have purchased tickets on an airline with planes that would kill them," said Yavar Bathaee, lead lawyer in the case. "If you look at what the companies knew and when, it's quite distressing."The lawsuit is asking for partial or total reimbursement on tickets for customers who traveled on any Southwest plane during the time it flew Boeing 737 Max planes. Lawyers say this suit could be expanded to consumers who bought tickets on any airline during the period because they allege both Boeing and Southwest continued to tout the safety of the aircraft when leaders knew it was unsafe. About 1 billion passengers flew in the U.S. in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.Neither Chicago-based Boeing nor Dallas-headquartered Southwest Airlines returned a request for comment.   Continue reading...