I think lots of people within Boeing care deeply about their customers, product quality and the company. I think the problem is with those in charge and their singular focus on profit. Read this white paper and take note of the date. What we are seeing today is a problem long in its creation.

https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...on-outsourcing

 

I doubt anyone's laying off pilots over this. "Recession" looks like soft landing, and summer travel is expected to boom. The big guys won't stop hiring, if you furlough pilots you'll never get them back, and future applicants will be less enthusiastic to apply to the only significant airline to furlough in many years (not counting covid, since that didn't stick).


Worst case might be more EIL if they don't get enough voluntary LOAs. But I don't think it will even go that long.

 

Boeing put pilots at risk flying these shoddy airplanes. Shouldn’t the union sue regardless at this point ?

 

Hypothetical risk isn't typically grounds for tort, unless you maybe suffered emotional trauma, PTSD, etc.

I think that would have to be individual lawsuits, not class action. Never underestimate the creativeness of the plaintiff's bar, but a class still seems like a stretch. Especially since any pilots who sue on those grounds or stand as a member of such a class are obviously putting their medical in jeopardy with the FAA (mental health).

Lost wages from furlough, yes. I don't think I've heard of that before, but it seems to make sense and BCA would not be a very sympathetic defendent in the eyes of the jury so they'd probably settle right up.

Also might have a claim for lost 2024 performance bonuses (hopefully not 2025 as well).

Might make more sense for AS to keep the employees whole, and then settle up with BCA after the dust settles. I'm sure that could all be done outside of the courts since it's only two airlines really impacted and BCA doesn't need press coverage drawn out for years by a legal battle.

 

It looks like Boeing probably has to dish out some cash to the airlines for lost revenue according to analysts. Alaska is most likely supplementing operational pay with Boeing money.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aer...9s-2024-01-08/

“On possible airline-compensation costs arising from Friday's accident, Citi analyst Jason Gursky estimated a daily cost of $2.3 million to Boeing, using RTX's (RTX.N) recent engine issues as a template for calculation.”


If you figure Alaska has half of the Max 9s in the skies, that’s about $1.15m a day to Alaska. 115 flights a day is probably about 1500 hours at 13 hours of flight time a day. 1500 hours and top of scale captain, FO and FA pay equates to about $1.14m a day in crew cost alone.

 

That will not get very far in a court of law.

 

Hawaiian got virtually nothing for the A321 debacle from Pratt. Did wonders to our balance sheet.

 

The difference between your feelings and what will be awarded in court is the difference between night and day.

 

My feelings on the incident and findings thereafter are irrelevant. Is it a feeling or a fact that multiple airframes have been found to have serious issues with these plug doors ? Someone could have been easily killed.

 

no, the issues they found were not serious. The media just reported it that way. None had bolts or pins missing. That would be serious.


the media has a habit of exaggerating and editorializing. Some loose bolts were found. But they were in place and secured. Loose doesn’t matter in that case.