Airline offers only $5,000 compensation for each lost soul

www.ecns.cn...

Beijing (ECNS) – Malaysian Airlines has promised that it will pay 31,000 yuan (US$5,059) to family members of each passenger aboard flight MH370 as "special consolation money" on Tuesday afternoon

Is the Airline forking kidding or what? Funeral processions alone easily add up to US $3,000 in China, Malaysia, alone. Which leaves some $2,000 consolation for the family of each lost passenger aboard Malaysia - which is probably how much was spent on some of the flights, anyways!

For those families who lost the working head of the household, this is especially a slap in the face from the Airlines, as if it isn't bad enough the Airlines cannot even tell the grieving families what may have happened to their father, mother, son, daughter nor explain why their phones still seem to be ringing thru to asian social networks.

www.foxnews.com...

“We’re not really interested in the money,” one relative told AFP, according to The Guardian. “It is all about the people -- the people on the plane. We just want them back”

Sounds like a perfect reason to boycott, then sue, the crap out of Malaysian Airlines.. for accidents happen, but responding to families with pennies on each passenger's life is a blatant display of treachery to the public who continue to fly with them.

reply to post by gardener

Wow that is 20 times the valuation given to them by their own Government. IMO it is a nice offer of the airlines as they are not responsible for foul play. Unless of course getting the 5k requires signing away all future rights to sue.... Which is actually quite likely as big business never does anything out of just be nice.......

Just wait till the life insurance policies kick in. Or if they find the black boxes and it was a fault with the aircraft, massive liability payments. Proper money compared to that hand out.

reply to post by gardener


Altogether, that's a little under $1.2 million in all. Malaysia Airlines has not had a good financial history. Most years over the last 10 years have been pretty severe financial losses. Unfortunately, this isn't a company that has millions or billions in revenue so that might actually be the best they can do. I agree that it sucks to seeming place such a small value on life but really, life is priceless. If one of my family were on that plane, no amount of money would make up for their loss.

en.wikipedia.org...
www.malaysiaairlines.com... performance.html

Mamatus
reply to post by gardener
s they are not responsible for foul play.

So if it is determined the plane ran out of fuel due to negligent employees of the Airlines that is not their responsibility?

www.huffingtonpost.com...

In September 1990, a Boeing 727 owned by Faucett Airlines of Peru was ditched into the North Atlantic after running out of fuel on its way to Miami. The accident was attributed to poor pilot planning and the wreck was never recovered.

More mysterious was the disappearance of another 727 in Africa. It was being used to transport diesel fuel to diamond mines. The owners had numerous financial problems and one day, just before sunset, the plane took off without clearance and with its transponder turned off. It is believed to have crashed in the Atlantic Ocean. One theory, never proven, is that it was stolen so the owner could collect insurance.

As you see, sometimes 'foul play' is theoretically right in the court of the owner, the Airlines itself.

reply to post by gardener


To understand what their doing you gotta think like a businessmen.
For every family that takes the money, that's one less family to start or join in a class action lawsuit.

Personally I think just offering the money is an insult--- But what do I know I'm cursed with this failing of having compassion and a personal sense of responsibly... Maybe I should ask my Doc if their a cure for that?

Bellor
Just wait till the life insurance policies kick in. Or if they find the black boxes and it was a fault with the aircraft, massive liability payments. Proper money compared to that hand out.

Indeed. Which begs the question as to will the black box(es) and their unaltered data ever really be recovered? Its up to officials in the ICAO to be honest and not bribeable.

I would not put it past them to declare the black box missing or unreadable if it is found from it that fuel ran out or it was an inside job for Malaysian airlines to cash in the insurance policy on a Boeing 777.

As for ample insurance policies in China and Southeast asia on individual, I've got a hunch its just not a popular investment among the general public over there, or in any case there is no payout when there is no body, no autopsy, etc

You guys surely are good at jumping to conclusions. The $5000 is just a start. It's to help the families out with immediate needs. It isn't ALL the compensation that will potentially be awarded. Alaska Airlines did the exact same thing when a 737 crashed over the Pacific off of California due to a defective part in the tail that had not been properly maintained. They gave $20,000 to each family with no strings attached and no "credit" against future court suits, etc.

Of course, in the Alaska Airlines crash there was no doubt that the airline was responsible due to poor maintenance. It was their fault, period. In THIS case we don't even have a clue as to what exactly happened, and it's getting stranger by the minute. Is the airline the CAUSE here, or the victim? That's for the courts to figure out. Generally airline tickets are a contract that limits liability. The fact that they're giving away money already is to their credit. Complaining about it at this stage is really premature.

Whao, now thats more like it. Alaska issued a consolation of 4 times the amount Malaysia Airlines is offering. IF they're short on cash, sell a plane. Cuz obviously these lives were in your hands when they were suspiciously lost.

$20,000 can keep a family going for months, maybe a year on end. $5,000 in China, maybe 2 months rent/board and that's just not enough time considering plane crash investigations take years before the airline pays out a sum total in courts etc.

Indeed if this was an American airlines, Americans would just be so insulted at a number at $5,000 considering some international overseas flights - like Malaysia to China being an international, overseas flight - costs around $2,500-$5000+ nowadays.

Whoa.. its looking more and more like this is a massive coverup:

www.news24.com...

19 families have signed a joint statement saying that passengers' cell phones connected after the flight had been reported missing. In each case, the phone would ring, but the call would be hung up. Relatives have asked Malaysia Airlines to reveal any information they might be hiding, seeking an explanation for the eerie phone connections. The relatives have complained that the Malaysia Airlines is not responding as actively as it should.

So, why are authorities refusing to attempt to triangulate the GPS signals? Have they been ordered not to??

I wouldnt touch that money, that is just a way for them to buy you out. Never let them do that, Your right to file against the airways is worth more than $5000. No money is worth you signing your rights or relatives rights away.

Lost souls?

Wait, did I miss something? Have they found the plane? Have they found evidence of a crash? Something which suggests the death of the passengers?

If not, then why are they making this preemptive eulogy?

That's some creepy shtick right here.

reply to post by gardener


Isn't it a bit too premature to even discuss paying families...maybe in Malaysia they do things different but seem extremely inappropriate...

But you forget....these people do not need a funeral...no bodies to bury.

Note to MA...find the damn plane first!

Heh hope ur kidding about the no body, no funeral.

No burial maybe, but even that, usually those who believe in burial, bury something if not the remains, a hair, nail clippings.. etc

No burial, still can mean funeral.

Anyways, I suspect many want closure. They have been crying for days now as if their loved one died. Not necessarily to find out that indeed, their loved one is dead. But something, anything to go with. Any substantial development. (Not just a material $5,000 payout, yea, answers as to what happened would be nice first but IMO the company should not just say here take $5,000 where in civil suit they may be entitled - and deserve - way more.

In retrospect I do feel exploring the conspiracy theories (ie Freescale employees) now that they've surfaced will be more fruitful than discussing their preliminary payout amount, sorry

reply to post by gardener


If cell phones are still active then why not ping the phones? If the plane is still in one piece and near cell towers they might luck out.

gardener
Whao, now thats more like it. Alaska issued a consolation of 4 times the amount Malaysia Airlines is offering. IF they're short on cash, sell a plane. Cuz obviously these lives were in your hands when they were suspiciously lost.

You're not seriously comparing what Alaska Airlines did in the United States with what Malaysian Airlines has done in Malaysia, are you? Economically and cost-of-living wise, these two places are a world apart. Further, neither one of these payments was intended to pay all a family's expenses for months, nor to be the total compensation each family might be provided. It also was not legally required. Admittedly it is perhaps good PR on the part of the airline, but they didn't have to do it. NOW they're being condemned because "it's not enough" and also being condemned because "It's not about the money and we don't want it."

Also, culpability for this has not been determined. If you are the passenger in a car and some other idiot hits the car through no fault of the driver, do you then demand the driver of your car compensate you? Of course not, and here we don't even know what has happened.

Further, the airline is in between a rock and a hard place. In Bejing where some of the families are gathered they were complaining when representatives of the airline were not there to talk to them, then when they WERE there to talk to them they threw bottles at them because they came without answers. They DON'T show up and they're condemned; they DO show up and they are condemned. Does anyone think they intentionally crashed the plane? Did they expect them to say, "Yeah, the plane diverted to Vietnam and everyone's ok."? Grief. Okay. Not good and all that, but some of these people are wallowing in it.

These people are dead, and everyone knows it. There is no need for needless pretense. Now let's find out what happened and not sit around in an airport for the next month "waiting for news."

reply to post by gardener


And if the passenger is a confirmed atheist that should be a money saver. Personally I think the only soulless person in the entire affair would be the attorney that determines what each soul is worth.

Google the "Warsaw Convention". It's policies are still in effect.
www.jus.uio.no...