2024-03-12 10:20:26
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The Boeing 737 Max remains in the crossfire of criticism.
Jean-Claude RaemyEditor Economics
What’s going on at Boeing? After the two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, things had become quieter for a while. But the breakdown of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max in January, in which a door was torn out of the fuselage, has deepened the worry lines again.
Following this incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conducted an audit of Boeing’s quality control processes. The devastating result: Boeing failed 33 of 89 audits, as the New York Times reports.
A third of the tests were therefore unsuccessful. The FAA discovered “dozens of problems,” including some in “non-compliance with approved manufacturing processes.” And this in aviation, where safety is the top priority!
«If it’s Boeing I ain’t going»
Stefan Eiselin (56), founder of the Zurich aviation portal “Aerotelegraph”, has already heard from some people among his readers who no longer want to get into a Boeing 737Max, or who are at least “uneasy” about it. The joke “If it’s Boeing I ain’t going”, whose origins are not entirely clear, is suddenly gaining momentum.
After all, hardly any Boeing 737 Max fly to or from Switzerland. Only Icelandair flies between Zurich and Reykjavik-Keflavik with a Boeing 737 Max-8. Other airlines that are also active in Switzerland also have 737 Max in their fleet – such as Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines and Air Canada. In other words: on a connecting flight it is quite possible that you will be sitting in a Boeing 737 Max.
Eiselin says everyone has to decide for themselves whether they want to fly on a Boeing 737 Max or not. But he also adds: “The incident with Alaska Airlines was one too many.” Boeing has lost enormous credibility. The promise of improvement after the deadly incidents of 2018/2019 has evaporated. The stock market price has fallen accordingly since then.
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“Boeing will now have to invest a lot of money to regain credibility with the public and investors,” says Eiselin. This money could be missing from development and innovation.
Hardly any beneficiaries in sight
Which rival has the upper hand due to the Boeing misery? Hardly anyone. Competitor Airbus has benefited before and has full order books for years to come. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer is too small, the Russian aircraft manufacturers no longer play a role and the Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac is meaningless outside of China’s sphere of influence.
More about the Boeing series of mishaps
In the long run, airlines may not be able to avoid Boeing. “Boeing’s aircraft are not bad, but given their high prices, such quality defects shouldn’t occur in such abundance,” concludes Eiselin.
Statistically speaking, the number of fatal accidents involving Boeing aircraft of all types is actually minimal in relation to the number of Boeing aircraft flying. But in aviation, failures in construction and quality control are anything but trivial.
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