United Airlines has extended the cancellation of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft until at least September 3rd. This time customers may feel the pain. Unlike on American and Southwest, United has successfully reduced the impact of the 737 MAX groundings by reassigning aircraft, even if means capacity upgrades on some routes that ordinarily would be unable […]
737 MAX Ferry Flight Blocked From German Airspace
A 737 MAX 8 ferry flight was denied the right to fly over Germany, forcing an unplanned landing in France for refueling. As mandatory worldwide groundings continue for the troubled 737 MAX 8, Norwegian is attempting to consolidate its fleet in Stockholm. When the ban came down, many 737s were left scattered at airports around […]
Boeing CEO: I’d Put My Family On 737 MAX “Without Any Hesitation”
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg would put his family on a 737 MAX “without any hesitation.” In a wide-ranging interview with Norah O’Donnell of CBS News, Muilenburg repeatedly apologized to the families of the victims of a pair of 737 MAX crashes. At the same time, he made clear he would not resign and that Boeing […]
Will You Join United CEO Oscar Munoz On First Boeing 737 MAX Flight?
United CEO Oscar Munoz vowed to be a passenger on the first Boeing 737 MAX flight, when the airliner is cleared to fly again. Would you join him? Speaking to investors this week, Munoz used a bit of reverse psychology: Just because somebody says it’s safe, you as the flying public aren’t just going to […]
American Airlines Sees $1 Billion Impact From 737 MAX + Rising Fuel Prices
When American Airlines’ CEO Doug Parker [in]famously boasted that AA would never lose money again, he likely never imagined that an entire aircraft type would be grounded for months as oil prices rose. But welcome to 2019… Put together, the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and the increasing cost of fuel and American […]
Donald Trump Offers 737 MAX Advice To Boeing Via Twitter…
U.S. President Donald Trump began his Monday morning with some branding advice to Boeing. Speaking via Twitter, Trump stated: What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I did become President!), but if I were Boeing, I would FIX the Boeing 737 MAX, add some additional great features, & REBRAND the plane with a […]
An Explosive New Theory On The Ethiopian 737 MAX Crash
A new and detailed theory suggests that a potential bird strike plus pilot error, coupled with faulty sensors, resulted in the ET302 crash. I’ve been following the ET302 crash closely as we all try to better understand what happened and how to prevent it in the future. Pointing fingers will not bring back lives. After Boeing […]
Boeing CEO Accepts Blame For 737 MAX Crashes
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg issued an extensive statement concerning the preliminary report on flight 302 by Ethiopian Airlines. In it, he seems to apologize and accept blame for both the Lion Air and Ethiopian 737 MAX crashes. He also promises a quick software fix that will make the MAX “among the safest airplanes ever to fly.” […]
Huge Changes To United MileagePlus Coming On November 15, 2019
United Airlines is making big changes to the MileagePlus program this November. I just got off the phone with Luc Bondar, United’s Vice President of Loyalty and head of the MileagePlus program: we spoke for 35 minutes. I’ll have a much more detailed post on everything discussed later, but here is what is changing: Starting […]
A History Of Aircraft Groundings (Part 3 – Boeing 737 MAX)
121pilot, a commercial airline pilot in the USA, has graciously written a three-part series on the history of aircraft groundings. Today, we explore part three, on the current Boeing 737 MAX grounding. Click here for part one on the propellor age and here for part two on the jet age. Today’s post includes the author’s […]
Lufthansa May Buy 100+ Boeing 737 MAX
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr claims his airline has not lost faith in Boeing and is mulling a narrowbody order for over 100 aircraft. Speaking about Boeing, Spohr told Reuters: We have not lost our trust in Boeing. They’ve built wonderful aircraft over the decades, and I am sure they will fix the current issue… Between […]
Garuda Indonesia’s Threat To Cancel 737 MAX 8 Order Is Likely A Bluff
In my own import/export business, I’ve learned the great power of a bluff. I’ve got the feeling that is what Garuda Indonesia doing in “canceling” its large Boeing 737 MAX 8 order. It was Winston Churchill who was first said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” In a sense, Garuda Indonesia has a fiduciary duty […]
An Open Letter From Boeing CEO On 737 MAX Crashes
Boeing Chairman, President, and CEO penned an open letter to “airlines, passengers, and the aviation community” on Boeing’s commitment to safety. It’s worth a few minutes of your time to read and consider. I have included the full text of the letter below, but if you prefer to listen, a video recording of the letter […]
Ethiopian Captain Never Had 737 MAX Simulator Training
Yared Getachew, the captain onboard doomed Ethiopian Flight 302, never had Boeing 737 Max 8 simulator training, despite Ethiopian Airlines’ acquisition of a simulator months earlier. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, insiders at Ethiopian told the New York Times that Ethiopian had a Boeing 737 MAX 8 simulator up and running in January, but […]
737 MAX Customers Have Nowhere Else To Turn But To Boeing…
In a world of mounting backorders in which demand far outstrips supply, disgruntled Boeing 737 MAX customers cannot just take their business elsewhere. Not if they wish to enjoy any semblance of timely delivery. There are likely escape clause provisions in most of Boeing’s 737 MAX contracts that would allow big customers like Norweigan or WestJet […]
Three Airlines, Three Very Different Approaches To 737 MAX Tragedy
The crash of 737 MAX 8 jetliner in Ethiopia two weeks ago has evoked starkly different reactions depending on who you ask. Airlines have reacted in the same way. While Garuda mulls cancellation, flydubai digs in, and Norwegian fumes. We’re still too early in the aftermath of the tragedy to understand what precisely happened to cause the deadly […]
Captain Sully Weighs In On Boeing 737 MAX Crash
Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the pilot who skilfully landed US Airways 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009, has harsh words for both Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines. The “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot is an Aviation and Safety Expert for CBS News but weighed in on the recent Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-8 MAX crash on his […]
Tacky: France Already Using 737 MAX Incident To Undercut Boeing
I get it. All is fair in love and war and it is war between Airbus and Boeing. But I’m not impressed by actions of the French President just days after the horrific Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash that killed 159 people in Ethiopia. Bloomberg reports: French President Emmanuel Macron has meanwhile held discussions with […]
FAA Explains Why Trump Grounded Boeing 737 MAX
Just moments ago, U.S. President Donald Trump stated he was grounding all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in the United States by Executive Order. Now the Federal Aviation Administration has issued its own explanation. Via Twitter, the FAA stated: The FAA is ordering the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in […]
Help Me Plan My 737 MAX Trip With My Two-Year-Old…Or Not?
I want to take my son on a 737 MAX trip this weekend, lest I ever be accused of hypocrisy. Earlier today, I made (or attempted to make) a rather abstract argument that perhaps we are acting too hastily in grounding the 737 MAX. Reader Joey suggested: To prove your point, it may be a […]
