Boeing needs to get real: the 737 MAX should probably be scrapped
theconversation.com
theconversation.com
The airlines, and global traffic / economy are starved for planes.
In an alternate universe, the A380 didn't have his production lines closed and Airbus made a A380neo and sell it like hot cake to help resorb the traffic ?
While repurposing the A380 lines helped, with the A350 selling very well and the A220 ramping up it's not like Airbus has any spare capacity available either.
1. Restarting the production line is costly and expensive. Last unit was produced in 2024 - 20 years ago. I don't even know if Boeing still maintains the parts and the know-how to ramp up production.
2. They already have the 737 MAX in the books for sales and commitment.
3. 757 suffers the same problem as the 737NG did - it would need to be re-designed so that it would be competitive with the A321 NEO and that also requires re-certification process.
4. You would need to also train up the 737 pilots to fly the 757.
5. 757 requires bigger gate space, so that poses logistics challenges for airports.
6. The root problem isn't the 737 MAX, but the cultural rot that was embedded by the Boeing leadership (McNerney - surprise, surprise - who's never worked in engineering function and started as a McKinsey consultant).
Interestingly, if you interpret this as a math expression, the typo self corrects.
Boeing has no good options. The 787, which is very pleasant to ride in, was a disastrous project in the opposite way as the 737MAX: Waaaay over budget, way late. Way beyond the target price. Less range than initially spec'ed, and an outsourcing disaster.