Delta is “anxious” to see the Boeing 737 MAX back in the skies even though the airline doesn’t fly any. Why? It wants Boeing to return to innovation instead of crisis control.
Speaking on the Yahoo Finance program On the Move (video here), Delta CEO Ed Bastian said it’s time to get the 737 MAX back in the sky.
“We are anxious to see the MAX back into the sky. I think having it as long as it’s been out is not good for anyone in the industry, even though we don’t fly the MaAX, because we need Boeing, to continue to work on development and innovation of future technology…
“That’s been our message to Boeing, is to not lose sight of the future.”
Bastian called the 737 MAX problem a “distraction” rather than a crisis, re-iterating his full trust in the Chicago-based plane maker.
He also bristled at any suggestion Boeing was at fault for the UIA 737-800 crash over Tehran. Bastian called the incident a “tragedy” but reiterated the whole airline industry is looking to Boeing to “be able to get the technology and the next generation aircraft that we really need to continue to advance our opportunities to grow.”
Talking about growth seems a bit tone deaf today of all days, but Bastian never avoids controversy.
CONCLUSION
It seems a bit odd that Delta is anxious for an aircraft to re-enter service that it doesn’t even fly. Nevertheless, I suppose I understand the sentiment around wanting to get Boeing back on innovation and away from damage control. But that’s a long way off, unfortunately. Boeing has a lot of trust to rebuild first. It seems, however, that it never lost Delta’s trust.
image: Delta
“He also bristled at any suggestion Boeing was at fault for the UIA 737-800 crash over Tehran”
As he should for an airplane that has probably billions of hours of flight time at this point without an indication of an inherent technical flaw…
Occam’s Razor…latent 737-8 issue? Or UIA airplane flying out of Iran in January 2020 having some missed maintenance or worse?
The Iranians shot down the UIA 737 (very probably a mistake). It’s pretty well documented by reliable news organizations.
Sounds like Delta is trying to get a good deal on whatever Boeing’s next plane is. Given the issues with the MAX and 787, I’m disproved they want it.
Surprised***
Bastian never fails to take the opportunity to tell others how to do their jobs. What a clown.
IKR. He’s so tedious.
No boubt Bastian wants Boeing to fix the MAX and get started on the NMA. DL has lots of aging 757s.
Not to mention that Delta could get some business from people who purposely want to book away from the dreadful MAX.
All the negatively about Bastian despite the fact that he’s built the only U.S. carrier that’s remotely close to competing with top foreign carriers, and has overseen significantly better labor relations with employees than any other U.S. carrier.