business

Boeing wants it to fly, but travelers fear the 737 MAX

17 Comments
By Luc OLINGA

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17 Comments
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You won't catch me flying a 737 MAX. At least not for the next few years till it's proved itself. Till that time arrives though I will pay extra on a flight that doesn't use that plane.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

The MAX's setbacks have cast a shadow over a century of history...

Most of that century, the planes were built in America by Americans. These problems started to occur after Boeing started large-scale outsourcing of its manufacturing including to foreign countries, and moving production to S. Carolina, because it's cheaper than Washington State.

You reap what you sow when you're a short-sighted cheapskate.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

"Safety is at the core of our business"

If it really was then 200+ people would not have died.  Profits above all else are at the (rotten) core of your business.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

They said it was safe before, even after the first crash they said it was safe, after the second crash they said it was safe, and all other times when they had a change, they said it was safe. But nothing has changed, the guy in charge of it all is still at the steering wheel, he'll be even more vigilant of dissenters now. No one, will dare speak out knowing what's at stake here. I'm surprise there's not a criminal investigation given the wilful conduct of those in charge.

The only way forward is for a complete new team whose focus should be on restoring safety rather than pleasing analysts and generating bonuses.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

@JeffLee

I understand your post and Boeing has outsourced some manufacturing and I do agree with your point of view (in some cases) however that is not the root cause of this problem.

The root cause of this problem was Boeing designers failed to address a single point failure which would result in an unsafe action by the aircraft. This is a design issue which was missed by Boeing engineers in the U.S. The reason for the design issue (as reported by some retired or whistle blowing Boeing engineers) was that unlike in the past the subsystem designs and assessments were compartmentalized to speed the plane to market (due to competition with Airbus).

The reason for the root cause, I would agree with you, is greed (fear of loss of market share being placed above safety).

Some of the outsourcers (suppliers to Boeing) can actually provide a better product or something Boeing cannot provide (Toray supplies composite material for the fuselage structure, etc. and some of the parts)

4 ( +4 / -0 )

They are talking about regaining trust and credibility like it was just the entertainment system malfunctioning, but 350 people died .... Their communication seems really disconnected to me.

Are the families of the people who died in the crashes suing Boeing by the way ?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

i reckon boeing should fully subsidize anyone willing to fly it regardless of the airline company for like 4-5 years.. then, if no accident they could maybe sell more.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The balance of probability is that they have narrowed down the problem window to where the risk is close to negligible, or at least close to the same as most other aircraft. I like Alex's idea, that Boeing should somehow give a discount on 737 MAX and maybe NG tickets for the foreseeable future, until public trust is regained and public memory of this unfortunate saga has faded.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

These problems started to occur after Boeing started large-scale outsourcing of its manufacturing

Unfortunately this is not a manufacturing issue, had this been a manufacturing issue, it would have been easily fixed with the corresponding parts replaced free of cost by Boeing. This is a design issue and this is not out-sourced, permanently fixing the design issue will require one heck of ingenuity, any further issue with this aircraft..and it would be heading to the scrapyard.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

This has nothing to do with outsourcing. It has all to do with Corporate Greed over Safety and Regulator negligence.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The Boeing B-737 MAX in the hands of qualified pilots is a safe aircraft.

A copilot (first officer) with total flying time of 200 hours is not qualified to assist the captain under an emergency. Pilots with with fewer the 5000 total hours should not be in command of a B-737 MAX or similar airliners.

The B-737 MAX flew millions of passengers in the hands of competent pilots, mainly in Canada and the United States of America (U.S./USA) with Air Canada, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines from the time this variant was introduced until the fleet was grounded in March 2019.

I, for one, flew on several flights prior to and after the Lion Air and Ethiopian crashes and am ready to fly as soon as this fine aircraft is returned to service.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I seem to remeber a saying from years back: 'If it's Boeing, I ain't going'. Also, their 'anti-hijack'  'Uninterruptible Autopilot' could provide the answer for MH 370 (landed ion Diego Garcia?) and the 9/11 flights. That could explain why a number of the so-called 'Hijackers' were found to be alive and well, after the event.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@yamada1043 - you have instantly accused the Pilots of the two Aircraft that crashed as being "unqualified" which was the original line used by Boeing and later retracted after being proven wrong.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The 737 Max is a lame duck. It should be renamed to a completely new line, and undergo the certification and training requirements of such a new line of aircraft, only then, could some form of confidence be re-established with the Customer base. I'd suggest airlines in the meantime sue Boeing for provision of goods that were unfit for the purpose that they had been bought for.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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