Boeing 737MAX: An Airline CEO Perspective

Would you even take delivery of a MAX, as an airline CEO, today?

If I were a CEO of an airline that flew the MAX, the good news is that I don’t even have to make that decision until the regulators have told me that they’re going to certify the plane to be safe to fly. Certainly, I’m not just going to accept that. I’m going to ask my flight operations team, my safety team, to evaluate whether they believe my airline can fly it safely. Once all that’s in place, then I would think about the MAX, just like I think about any other plane in my fleet. It’s cost us this much to bring in, it costs this much to operate. How do I want to compare that against the airplanes I have, what I believe demand is going to be and that’s it? There will be airlines taking the MAX again, at some point. But I think, right now, the reduction in flying has probably slowed the return of that airplane, for sure.

Let’s say it gets certified and it’s ready to fly. They don’t change the hardware and this is another software update and it gets certified. Would you feel any pressure, psychologically, emotionally, or otherwise, around actually taking this plane, after everything that has happened? Or would you just take this as a clean slate, it’s ready and not take that kind of tail risk, in that sense?

That’s an interesting question. That airplane was a strong seller, before the two crashes and there’s a reason it was a strong seller. It was a good airplane, on paper, and it promised good economics and good range and such. Clearly, the crashes have changed what that means now. When the plane returns, what’s going to be the training protocol for pilots and so on? Again, there has to be a sense that, not only that the regulators have said it’s safe to fly, but that each airline can ensure, to themselves, that their pilots will be safe flying that airplane.

Once that’s the case, I don’t think there will be an additional burden or cloud over that airplane. The reality of things is that most people, when they fly, don’t even know whether they’re getting on an Airbus or a Boeing, let alone, it’s this particular model, of this airplane. If the plane is clean, if the seat is comfortable, if the flight is on time, a lot of people aren’t going to even realize they’re on a MAX, once the MAX is flying again. I think airlines will treat it like any other plane, once it’s proven that it’s welcome back into the club again. It’s been kicked off the island for now, but it’s going to come back.

You’d want a discount, though, on the A320?

Absolutely, you would.