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Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

wsj.com

21–30 of 273 posts

Re: Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

#21

The FAA needs to stop hemming and hawing, being unclear about what they need, put in some overtime and get things done.

Ban the aircraft. Criminally charge everyone involved in suppressing it's serious issues and forcing it through approval.

Figure out how their processes become vulnerable to corruption and attempt to change them.

The problem is of course the FAA doesn't want to hurt Boeing or the industry over this. But that strongly conflicts with their job.

The hope at this point seems to be to drag it out until people forget.

Re: Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

#22
post #5

It will be difficult for Boeing to walk back the public opinion of the 737 MAX for what they have done. I know plenty of airline customers who intend to never fly a segment that utilizes one.

I sincerely doubt many people will remember anything about this five years from now. There have been dozens of crashes involving various models of the 737 series, and the vast majority of the population could not name a single incident. As soon as this is out of the news cycle, everyone will forget.

That means "737 Max" is the one name people remember as a threat.

Re: Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

#23
post #5

It will be difficult for Boeing to walk back the public opinion of the 737 MAX for what they have done. I know plenty of airline customers who intend to never fly a segment that utilizes one.

I sincerely doubt many people will remember anything about this five years from now. There have been dozens of crashes involving various models of the 737 series, and the vast majority of the population could not name a single incident. As soon as this is out of the news cycle, everyone will forget.

The majority of the population probably can't even tell a B737 from an A320.

Re: Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

#24
post #3

The big question is why they haven't done it already? Boeing's disconnect from reality is painful to watch.

It is a question, but the answer is probably pretty mundane. An airplane is a tremendously complex machine, and building them is a well honed process with lots of checks and balances built in which protect the investment the company is making in building such a complex device. So no doubt there are many many root cause analysis meetings which are going on to root out the failures in the process that let the plane get…

I fully expect this was put out there to put this ball (tens of thousands of jobs lost) in the FAA's court. I also fully expect Boeing to halt production if the FAA processes drag out longer, its not economical to continue making aircraft and not delivering them, in that if they don't deliver them, they don't get paid.

There's a point where its no longer due diligence, but decision paralysis. I don't know if were anywhere near that point with the 737 MAX, but at some point we will be, and we shouldn't ever get there.

The problem is that this will hurt tons of small businesses and suppliers more than it will hurt Boeing. It will hurt the machinists who assemble the aircraft, the network of suppliers in the Seattle area. But for the suits in Chicago it will be a metrics miss and maybe less of a bonus.

Re: Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

#26

I'm really wondering how much this will impact Boeing in the future and what their plans are for the 737 Max replacement.

Depends a lot on how long it takes to get the planes recertified. At this point, they have taken some serious reputational damage, but every day they’re falling further behind schedule. If it takes too long, airlines might start cancelling their orders and buying Airbus instead.

And of course, if they fail to get the MAX flying again, it’ll be ruinously expensive. Massive write-offs, lost revenue, endless lawsuits. Probably not enough to end them outright, but it’ll be some tough times.

Re: Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

#27

The FAA needs to stop hemming and hawing, being unclear about what they need, put in some overtime and get things done.

Ban the aircraft. Criminally charge everyone involved in suppressing it's serious issues and forcing it through approval. Figure out how their processes become vulnerable to corruption and attempt to change them. The problem is of course the FAA doesn't want to hurt Boeing or the industry over this. But that strongly conflicts with their job. The hope at this point seems to be to drag it out until people forget.

> Ban the aircraft. Criminally charge everyone involved in suppressing it's serious issues and forcing it through approval.

That's going a bit too far. Banning MCAS and requiring pilots to undergo MAX-specific training and certification seems more reasonable (and less wasteful) response to the issues.

I would support criminal charges against the chief decision-makers that led Boeing into this mess, going all the way up to the top. Examples need to be made to reset the priorities of corporate decision-makers.

Re: Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

#28
post #11
post #2

A lot of people thought this couldn’t happen. Difficult to overstate the enormity of this to the industry.

Would the last person leaving Seattle please turn out the lights.

Context: https://www.historylink.org/File/1287

Re: Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

#29
post #3

The big question is why they haven't done it already? Boeing's disconnect from reality is painful to watch.

It is a question, but the answer is probably pretty mundane. An airplane is a tremendously complex machine, and building them is a well honed process with lots of checks and balances built in which protect the investment the company is making in building such a complex device. So no doubt there are many many root cause analysis meetings which are going on to root out the failures in the process that let the plane get…

[deleted]

Re: Boeing to Suspend 737 Max Production in January

#30
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sincerely doubt many people will remember anything about this five years from now. There have been dozens of crashes involving various models of the 737 series, and the vast majority of the population could not name a single incident. As soon as this is out of the news cycle, everyone will forget.

That means "737 Max" is the one name people remember as a threat.

they will rename the plane, almost certainly
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