BOH

Probably not so many as did when the DC10 was at it's peak of safety incidents and high profile crashes. The reputation of the plane had got so bad that their biggest worldwide user at the time, AA, had the decal "DC10 Luxury Liner" on each side of the nose and rear empennage removed. This was because pax were turning up to the airport, getting to the gate and then flatly refusing to board once they realised what they were about to fly on.

With the MAX I don't think this is the case because as others have said, for 99.9% of pax, they don't care what they fly on. Or if they even mildly do care then the nuance of what version is not recognised, ie the MAX in FR's fleet is the 737M8. To virtually everyone it's simply a "737". As I have posted before, I vowed not to fly on a MAX for a few years after RTS but did unintentionally when a late equipment change on an FR GOA-STN last Autumn meant I had no choice if I wanted to get home that day.

More on a BA / IAG related note, anyone know what has happened to their 737MAX LoI that was signed some 3 years ago? I realise it has now expired but presumamby with air travel now recovering, IAG still have the need for new planes for the LCC part of their business, ie LGW ops and Vueling?

Supersonic Swinger

Whether many others do, I join you in that policy - knowing that both BA and QF won't be flying it will make booking away from that aircraft type easier for me.

nk15

The best thing about flying the MAX is that when you think about the MCAS it takes your mind off worrying about catching Covid, and then the horribly crammed seats and lavs take your mind off both crashing due to the MCAS or catching Covid, so it offers so much entertainment is my point...

nk15

I just watched it, it made a very clear damning case for Boeing. It was a criminal conspiracy basically from start to finish, in every single step.

lloydah

After watching the film it's obvious that the aircraft is now probably as safe as it's ever going to be but I question whether two and a half billion dollars is the correct price for over 300 lives. Further more, whether Boeing should ever have been allowed to pay their way out of the legal case.

nk15

It was obviously a biased decision because the US government is too close to industry and they did not want to harm their own aviation industry. But they also missed an opportunity to clean up house and fix Boeing's problems. I will personally still avoid the MAX, and possibly concerned about the 787, too. It is reasonably possible that at some point a 787 will catch fire or suffer structural damage while in the air...

Young82

Makes you worry what additional things they’ll put on the 777X and fail to tell the airlines / pilots! My advice, avoid Boeing if you have a choice.

ScienceTeacher

Something might have happened, worldwide, that caused an uncertainty in the minds of the airlines and their accountants to confirm a $300,000,000 aircraft? Might have, of course. 🙄

lost_in_translation

This logic works with probabilistic events like natural disasters. I’m not sure it works the same way when we’re talking about the risk of a flawed aviation design which didn’t crash before other aircraft variants due to random odds, but because of a design issue. I’m willing to buy that after being approved to fly again by global regulators that the 737 MAX is safe enough to be in the air, but I think the assumption that this is now safer than other aircraft designs is a bit of a leap to say the least.

Boeing77W

Of course COVID will have reduced demand and brought deliveries to a halt. However the fact that the FAA have, in simple terms, banned Boeing from certifying any 787s since Q2 2021, with some restrictions dating back to Q4 2020, shouldn’t be ignored.

I don’t know if these issues are discussed in the Netflix documentary or if it just focuses on the MAX. In some ways COVID will have been a blessing for Boeing by giving them some breathing space to rectify the issues while demand slowed down. Now it’s on the up again, airlines like American are already having to change their schedules due to a lack of 787 aircraft.

TTmex

Thanks to everyone for the interesting points.

The documentary left me thinking what will be the impact of another accident now. While Boeing have essentially bought their way out of this one, i can't see how, without a fundamental change, the brand continues. Bigger names have bitten the dust and wouldn't surprise me if this is merely the start of Boeing's end and the rise of a serious contender from the East such as Comac. What got me thinking about this was American Factory, a documentary that picked up an Oscar.

American industrial dominance seems like a thing of the past

mtofell

Another (more relevant?) analogy I think of is +/- 20 years ago when fast food restaurant Jack in the Box had an e. coli breakout. Post-breakout they were very likely the safest place to eat since every system in their operation was scrutinized and reworked to ensure it wouldn't happen again. But, to your point, a 737 plane is surely more complex than a burger joint. I guess in the end it's hard to know for sure. I personally am not steering towards or away from the Max planes for the time being but don't fault others for drawing different conclusions.

Young82

To be honest the bigger revelation for me from the NetFlix documentary was the highlighting of quality issues at the South Carolina plant. I mean how the hell did they let that happen? Am I correct that all / most 787s are produced there? I assume all of the ones BA Fly?

Lomapaseo

Seems like a plan.

Now who is going to fund this new contender's competitive aircraft before the sales checks roll in?

moondog

FYI, there is now an OMNI thread on this show.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni...d-news-62.html

Actually, it's an old thread, but the show is our current topic.