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Boeing backed themselves into a corner they weren’t going to get out of without major restructuring. The 737 is an old airframe design. They’ve extended the des
by yardie 7y ago
Boeing backed themselves into a corner they weren’t going to get out of without major restructuring. The 737 is an old airframe design. They’ve extended the design for decades with longer cabin and more powerful engines. But underneath it all is the 60s era design considerations.
They needed a new regional airframe design a decade ago. Something to iterate on for the next 50 years. And that could be introduced while the 737 was phased out. A smaller version of the 787 would have a been a good foundation.
- LatteLazy 7y agoBroadly I agree, but the corner isn't just boeing: the faa and airlines banned pilots from knowing more than 2 (I think) air frames a while ago. That's anticompetitive and any progress. It's the reason Boeing is still selling 50 year old designs: no one will buy anything newer. What exactly to do about that, I'm not sure...
- redis_mlc 7y ago> the faa and airlines banned pilots from knowing more than 2 (I think) air frames a while ago. The FAA does not limit how many type certificates that a pilot has. However, large airlines have policies that likely do limit their pilots to flying two airliner types. Source: commercially-rated airplane pilot.