The Boeing MAX grounding is not to blame. It’s exacerbating the manning situation that has been developing over the last couple of years. Before the MAX grounding occurred, manning numbers had been increasing for quite some time from the historical level of ~10.5:1 up to something like 12.5:1 or 13:1 now. What is driving the manning levels skyward was not triggered by the MAX. There’s lots of speculation as to why management decided to increase the manning but it was in play well before the MAX grounding.