American Airlines withdrew a lawsuit seeking compensation from a $36 billion shipping giant over a damaged plane engine

An American Airlines Boeing 777.

American Airlines filed a lawsuit against a major shipping and logistics company, alleging that it caused over $500,000 in damage to a recently repaired plane engine, then withdrew the suit less than a week later.

The airline filed the suit against Kuehne + Nagel in the Texas Northern District Court on Friday, August 30, before withdrawing the claim on Thursday, September 5.

The claim centered on an agreement made in 2021, in which American hired the firm to transport a Rolls Royce engine from Dallas-Fort Worth, its hub airport, to Hong Kong for repairs and maintenance.

Kuehne + Nagel is a Swiss firm with one of its 1,000-plus branches located in Austin. It has over 80,000 employees globally and a market cap of around $36 billion.

After the work was completed, Kuehne + Nagel transported the Trent 800 engine — used on American’s Boeing 777 jets — to Oklahoma at a cost of $208,078, the suit said.

However, American’s suit alleged that upon arrival, it found the engine had “incurred significant damage in transit.”

The suit said the Trent 800 had damage to its overspeed protection unit, power conditioning unit, suitcase vent tube, and electrical harness.

American estimated that it would cost $520,246 to fully repair the engine.

According to the complaint, the airline first made a claim with Kuehne + Nagel in August 2022 — but it added that the shipping firm had continued to “refuse to compensate American.”

It is unclear why American has withdrawn the suit, which had called for Kuehne + Nagel to pay damages, American’s attorney fees, and interest at the “maximum rate allowed by law.”

An American Airlines spokesperson told B-17: “We are working with our partners at Kuehne + Nagel to resolve this matter.”

Kuehne + Nagel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from B-17.