I do get the impression that the current Boeing CEO is attempting to turn the culture around, to a more "admit the problem and fix it" kind of attitude. The problem is that, if you are doing this after many years of "deny the problem and ship it", the number of apparent problems is actually going to go up for a while. I wonder if Boeing's customers and shareholders will have enough patience for him to complete the tr…
It's not just about safety, it's about the flying experience and environmental responsibility. If you think "flying sucks" it's probably because you've flown in a 737 and similar (A320) aircraft. Many people find it highly stressful to fly in a 737-class airplane because the curve of the fuselage is circular. My neck starts to lock up just thinking about it, but you don't have the same problem riding in a car, bus, o…
And Boeing was working on a replacement for the entire 737-757 line, a brand new airplane using many of the same concepts as the 787 "Dreamliner" but it took a long time and in 2011 Southwest blackmailed them if they need to retrain their pilots then they might as well buy Airbus.
Sources. First for the replacement airplane.
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2011/02/11/boei...
> Feb 11, 2011
> Boeing chairman and CEO Jim McNerney told a conference Thursday that Boeing probably will offer an all-new aircraft to replace its current generation of Boeing 737s.
> McNerney says Boeing prefers the new-airplane option to a second option -- re-engineering its current 737 lineup to accept a more fuel efficient engine.
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/civ...
> Boeing has begun work on the 737-RS, a research program to build a new aircraft to replace the 737, which carries roughly 170 passengers. By mid-2009 Boeing expected to arrive at a design template for the 737 replacement, with "notional entry into service" around the year 2015.
> Boeing's long term plan as of 2005 seemed to involve three aircraft, designated Y1, Y3 and Y3. The Y1 is the 737RS.
Page last modified: 07-07-2011
Second, the blackmail.
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/legal...
> Not only did Southwest management not want their pilots who flew the earlier model 737 NG to have to train in a flight simulator for the MAX, they insisted to Boeing that even classroom training be off the table, the filing shows. Southwest insisted on a clause in the sales contract stipulating a penalty of $1 million per airplane delivered if that standard wasn’t met.
> As the MAX’s most influential customer, Southwest’s insistence on this “infected every aspect of the birth and development of the new 737,” the legal filing asserts.
This is, of course, the legalese version of the blackmail mentioned above.