Originally Posted by
WHACKMASTER
Just one question…..what happens when the MAX8s get grounded for yet another Boeing f__k up? What if that’s two years or more down the road and our fleet is composed of a larger percentage of them?
It’s obvious that rightly so the FAA and general public want Boeing’s head to roll and have an ax to grind with them, so I wouldn’t rule that out.
An engine cowling being shed due to the anti-ice being left on isn’t that far fetched. If it results in a crash the general public fueled by the media will go absolutely ballistic and create a ton of pressure to ground *ALL* MAXes as they all have the composite lip. The FAA already has it out for Boeing and now Spirit Aerospace.
For a bunch of supposedly really smart people it sure is dumb of SWA upper management and BOD to keep doubling down on putting all our eggs in the MAX basket.
Just finished reading the 4Q 2023 earnings report transcript...
They keep hiding behind the "well, if we half a split fleet, we're still affected if there's an issue." They may have a point there. Imagine if we "diversified" and got A321neo's a few years back, along with MAX 7's... and now we've got multiple problems across the fleet.
I may be a bit of a conspiracy theorist here, but anyone remember the hardover rudder problem that plagued earlier 737's? Did we ground the fleet over it? Did we de-certify or purposefully drag out the certifications of other variants?
Hell, MAX 7 (never certified) was used to re-certify MAX 8 (already been certified), but 3+ years later, MAX 7 isn't certified. Seriously?! Boeing absolutely needs to get their house in order, but is the "new" standard "nothing must ever malfunction... ever" or are the new safety standards for certification no clickbait-paid news and clickbait hit-pieces?