Americans can travel again in the “star plane” Boeing 737MAX. According to foreign media reports, American Airlines officially resumed commercial services for Boeing 737MAX models from December 29, mainly operating regular commercial passenger flights between New York and Miami. As a result, American Airlines became the first civil aviation operator to resume the flight of the 737MAX since it was grounded in March 2019.
From two consecutive deadly air crashes that shocked the world in October 2018 and March 2019, to November 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the flight ban on the Boeing 737 MAX, which once dazzling star Boeing 737MAX has gone through 20 months. The “snow storage period”. Can it regain the favor of people when it comes back? In the face of the impact of the epidemic, how will Boeing, which has suffered grounding, layoffs and production reductions, get out of the crisis?
For the first time in nearly two years, American passengers are carried.
According to CNN, American Airlines will use Boeing 737MAX aircraft on round-trip routes from New York to Miami from December 29, which will be the first time in nearly two years that the aircraft will carry American passengers.
American Airlines did not disclose how many seats were sold on the 29th, which included flights from Miami to New York LaGuardia Airport at 10:32 a.m. EST and from New York to Miami at 2:30 p.m. As of late 28th morning, the airline’s website showed that only one afternoon main cabin ticket remained.
American Airlines is relatively calm, saying that passengers who are uncomfortable with the plane can rebook tickets. “Nobody forces you to ride the 737MAX if you don’t want to, but it’s there if you want it,” said David Seymour, chief operating officer of American Airlines, who once held a Boeing 737 MAX media event on December 2.
This trend is very eye-catching. Boeing 737MAX was grounded from March 2019 to November 2020, after two crashes that shocked the world caused 346 deaths. Last month, the FAA finally lifted the flight ban on the Boeing 737MAX.
Behind the comeback, Boeing has made a lot of efforts. Wang Yanan, an aviation expert and editor-in-chief of Aviation Knowledge, said that Boeing mainly does two aspects of work: first, in terms of technology, organize technical forces around software defects, focus on improving defects and upgrading; second, lobbying for the FAA, indicating that Boeing has the ability to solve technical problems. Both of these works have been quite effective.
However, it is a difficult task to resume flight of all grounded Boeing 737MAX. Wang Yanan pointed out that this requires Boeing not only to transform the grounded 737MAX into a defect-free state, but also to do technical instructions and necessary training for all aircraft operators and related personnel. For Boeing, it is difficult to explain and train each company, so choosing a company to pilot is an effective means of operation.
With the resumption of American Airlines 737MAX, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, which own this model, plan to resume using the model in the first and second quarters of 2021, respectively.
At present, the aviation authorities of most other countries have not yet approved the Boeing 737MAX to fly again. However, earlier this month, Brazilian airline Gore (GOL) became the first commercial carrier to fly 737MAX. According to foreign media reports, regulators in Canada and Europe are expected to approve soon.
Can we regain the trust of the people?
As the global return is gradually pushed, Boeing 737MAX is still in turmoil: Air Canada confirmed on the 25th that a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft was forced to return due to engine failure on its way from Arizona to Montreal, Canada. Land. It is not clear whether the accident will have an impact on the 737MAX passenger plane’s return plan, and the Canadian Transportation Safety Commission said it would investigate it.
U.S. media reports that Boeing is now facing a difficult climb. First of all, the aircraft is grounded for 20 months, and the longer it lasts, it will only make people more worried about the safety of the aircraft.
What’s more terrible is the credit collapse. After two accidents, 737MAX has changed from a star product to a culprit. With the release of the investigation reports of the two accidents, the American people gradually found that Boeing, which has always adhered to the enterprise philosophy of safety first, actually made low-level mistakes in technology, as the last barrier for regulators to ensure safety. The AA turned a blind eye to such a low-level mistake, and the image of the authority of the FAA industry no longer exists. The U.S. House Transportation Committee’s assessment directly points to the status quo: “Boeing failed in the design and development of the MAX, and the FAA failed to supervise Boeing and the certification of aircraft.”
So, in the United States, which can already ride the 737MAX, has the confidence of the people restored? Will you still choose this former star model?
According to Reuters, a new survey conducted by Reuters and Ipsos found that the familiarity of the American people with the two fatal Boeing 737MAX accidents has decreased over time.
The results of the survey were released on December 28, the day before the 737MAX resumed commercial flights in the United States. The results show that 39% of adults are aware of the two accidents, which is a decrease compared with previous surveys.
However, when respondents were reminded of safety issues in the plane, 57 percent said they were unlikely to fly the Boeing 737MAX, and 37 percent said they might be on the Boeing 737 MAX six months or more after the plane flew.
According to Reuters, the FAA said on the 28th that it would reform the certification method of the new aircraft to bring it into line with the legislation passed by Congress. U.S. congressmen approved a comprehensive reform bill, and U.S. President Trump signed into law on the 27th. The bill strengthens the FAA’s regulation of aircraft manufacturers, requires disclosure of critical safety information and provides protection for whistleblowers.
The aviation industry is still struggling under the epidemic.
2020 has been a difficult year for Boeing, experiencing a series of blows such as grounding, large number of orders cancelled, management adjustment, production cuts, layoffs and so on. So, what challenges will Boeing face in 2021? How to get out of the crisis?
Foreign media pointed out that despite the shadow of the temporary deportation of the grounding in the United States, the initial “victory” of Ryanair’s order was obtained in early December and the resumption of flights in Brazil, Boeing’s troubles are far from solved.
The return of Boeing 737MAX comes as the coronavirus pandemic pushes the aviation industry into the worst crisis. Several aerospace industry analysts predict that Boeing will not announce any large commercial aircraft development projects in 2021, but focus on surviving the crisis.
First, some analysts believe that Boeing’s focus in the future will be to ensure the stability and reliability of the 737MAX after it resumes operation.
Wang Yanan pointed out that Boeing should reorganize all links of 737MAX from design, manufacturing to supply chain, and carefully check whether there are other hidden dangers, because if other problems occur, it is likely to cause a devastating blow to the market life of the product.
Zhang Juen, executive director of the Chinese Aviation Society and an expert in aviation science and technology, also believes that Boeing should learn painful lessons and strictly strengthen technical management. From a technical point of view, the 737MAX model itself has little potential and inherent design defects. In due course, Boeing may launch a new model.
Second, one of Boeing’s main tasks in 2021 is to manage to deliver hundreds of 737MAXs that have been produced.
“What I really want to see in 2021 is the reliable management of MAX delivery,” said Michel Merluzeau, an analyst in the aerospace industry at consulting firm AIR. However, this process is not easy. Affected by the epidemic, the demand for shipping has dropped significantly and the shipping industry has been cold.
Third, in 2021, Boeing may try to persuade other national regulators to approve the 737MAX resumption. At present, Brazil has approved it, and regulators in Canada and Europe are expected to follow suit.
Wang Yanan pointed out that as the first country to ground flights, the Civil Aviation Administration of China mainly considers safety issues. In the case of Boeing’s exposure to technical problems and regulatory problems in the FAA, there are doubts about whether the FAA’s license is in place. At the same time, the FAA may not disclose all the details during the airworthiness review of aircraft, and some countries may be more cautious about release.
Fourth, in order to adapt to the environment, Boeing may continue to reorganize its operation business and adjust aircraft production in 2021. Some analysts believe that Boeing’s final production may be lower than its publicly predicted level.
Zhang Juen pointed out that the international aviation situation in 2020 is grim, and Boeing is facing fierce competition from competitors such as Airbus. How to change the situation that civil aviation has been surpassed by Airbus in 2021 is the biggest problem that Boeing needs to consider.
