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Passengers should trust 737 Max if ‘best pilots in the world’ fly them, says airline boss

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker says he will fly on the controversial jet with his children to reassure passengers

Simon Calder
Travel Correspondent
Monday 27 January 2020 16:25 GMT
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Taking off? American Airlines says it expects passengers to be increasingly confident about flying its Boeing 737 Max planes
Taking off? American Airlines says it expects passengers to be increasingly confident about flying its Boeing 737 Max planes

Passenger confidence about flying on the Boeing 737 Max when it finally returns to service is “not good” at present, according to the boss of American Airlines.

But Doug Parker, the carrier’s chief executive, has told staff that travellers will trust the plane when “the best pilots in the world who don’t take airplanes up until they know everything about them, they’re comfortable doing it”.

The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since March 2019, following two fatal crashes that claimed 346 lives.

The first accident, in October 2018, killed all 189 on a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max departure from Jakarta,

In March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed with the loss of 157 lives.

In both accidents flight-control software forced the nose of the plane down.

Safety regulators around the world closed their skies to the Boeing 737 Max shortly afterwards. Boeing has been working to convince the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and its counterparts around the world that the updated software is safe.

American Airlines is the largest carrier in the world by passengers carried and fleet size. Its CEO was taking questions from staff after publishing the fourth quarter financial results for 2019.

Gary Leff published a transcript of his response in View from the Wing.

Mr Parker said: “Polled today, which a lot of companies are doing including ours, asking people ‘How do you feel about the Max?’, the results are not good. There’s very high awareness of the issue. And there’s real trepidation about whether they would fly it today or not.”

He predicted sentiment will start to change when the US regulator approves the Boeing 737 Max to fly again.

“That’ll be a very big deal when the FAA has decided, after this incredible scrutiny, that this aircraft is as safe as probably the safest airline to fly because of all the scrutiny it’s gone under.”

“I’ll fly around [and] get my kids to go.

“But the real thing that’ll make a difference: American Airlines pilots get in the cockpit and say, ‘I am comfortable flying this aircraft’. That’s what matters.”

The chief executive laid out the timetable for the return to service, assuming the Boeing 737 Max is certified to fly on 30 June 2020.

“It’ll take us a couple of months at least to get enough pilots trained to be able to fly putting in service. Then there’ll be a couple of months before we can return to customer service flying.

“We will have some number of pilots trained that are qualified to fly, just not enough to put it into service yet.”

Mr Parker acknowledged some passengers will refuse to fly on the plane, and said they will be rebooked on alternative non-Max flights: “If they’re not prepared to fly it we will do our best to re-accommodate them.”

His counterpart at Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has said his airline will offer neither refunds nor the chance to switch to other flights.

American Airlines reiterated in its earning call: “The financial cost of the Max grounding should be borne by Boeing shareholders, not American.”

The airline said it had reached a confidential settlement with Boeing for losses suffered in 2019 due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max and will press for more: “We’ll continue to hold Boeing accountable for future financial damages to protect our company and our shareholders.”

In the UK, the main users of the Boeing 737 Max before the grounding were Norwegian and Tui Airways.

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