The $15 billion jet dilemma facing Boeing's CEO

About 15 years ago, I remember seeing a documentary about Boeing's new "radical" change in manufacturing direction, marked by the 787 development. I shook my head back then, thinking, "this can't work" - extensive global outsourcing, relocating factories because local labor was cheap (as opposed to good), becoming an assembler rather than a manufacturer, etc.

A recipe for demise. Good luck, Boeing, you're gonna need it.

Bring back the old DC-9/MD80/MD-90/717 with a modern composite wing and fuselage and modern fuel efficient engines. That was and remains one of the all time great airliners. With the engines at the rear they were quieter in the cabin. Boeing could stretch or shrink the fuselage on either side of the wings to get the seating they want without the problems presented by the 737.

Bring back the old DC-9/MD80/MD-90/717 with a modern composite wing and fuselage and modern fuel efficient engines. That was and remains one of the all time great airliners. With the engines at the rear they were quieter in the cabin. Boeing could stretch or shrink the fuselage on either side of the wings to get the seating they want without the problems presented by the 737.

I don't know much about airplane technology, but quieter cabins has my vote!

I don't know much about airplane technology, but quieter cabins has my vote!

There is a chart near the bottom of the page that shows how the airplane grew over the years from the original small DC-9 of the 1960s to the 717-200 after Boeing bought Douglas Aircraft and continued to make the plane. I have always loved flying on them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_717