One of Boeing’s top executives has announced at the recent international aviation event, that Boeing 737 Max passenger jet is by far the ‘safest aircraft’ currently available in the market.
Speaking to journalists during the Singapore Airshow, Boeing’s commercial marketing managing director for the Asia-Pacific region, Dave Schulte, declared the 737 Max 9, which is currently under scrutiny for a midair incident, the most extensively examined aircraft in aviation history. According to media reports, Schulte also announced that he had recently flown on a 737 Max with his family, and the flight was heavily booked.
Due to the mid-flight blowout incident of a 737 Max 9 aircraft’s fuselage section in January, Boeing refrained from showcasing any commercial aircraft at the Singapore Airshow. Consequently, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has imposed several restrictions on 737 MAX jets, temporarily preventing Boeing from increasing production due to concerns regarding passenger safety.
When asked about China’s latest domestic passenger jet, the C919, which had its inaugural flight outside China at the show on Sunday, Schulte stated that the aircraft is similar to existing offerings in the market. His remarks mirror those made by Christian Scherer, the CEO of Airbus’s commercial aircraft business, who also commented this week that the C919 is not very different from what Airbus and Boeing already offer. Scherer stated that the Chinese jet will not significantly disrupt the industry but acknowledged that the C919 is a valid attempt by China to compete in the market, which is big enough to accommodate competition.
China’s Tibet Airlines has officially placed an order for 40 narrow-body jets from Comac, the state-owned manufacturer of the C919 aircraft, as announced during the recent show.
Chinese aviation experts have been asserting that the Comac jet has the potential to emerge as a formidable competitor to the long-standing commercial aviation dominance of Boeing and Airbus. According to analysts at Northcoast Research, commericial airline industry professionals perceive the ongoing issues with Boeing, particularly the 737 Max, as an advantageous opening for Comac.
Boeing, the leading American aerospace company, has faced additional 737 MAX groundings and safety inspections following previous incidents that put the company in a difficult position a few years ago. These incidents involved plane crashes in Ethiopia (2019) and Indonesia (2018), which tragically claimed the lives of 346 individuals. As a result, the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft had to be grounded for a duration of 20 months.
SOURCE: Boeing Exec: 737 Max ‘Safest’ in Market, Chinese C919 ‘Ok’ BY: eTurboNews | eTN