a new plane would not have been eligible for the same type certification, thus forcing all pilots who flew it to obtain the new type rating. This training is ve

a new plane would not have been eligible for the same type certification, thus forcing all pilots who flew it to obtain the new type rating. This training is very expensive for the airlines. in other words, Boeing's thesis was, because we (heavily) modified the 737, it's the same basic plane. The FAA accepted this argument. The FAA would never have accepted the argument that a totally new design was "actually a 737 ".