AirlineRatings’ Geoffrey Thomas on CNN straight talking 737 MAX

by Airline Ratings Editors
2345
March 27, 2019
737 MAX

AirlineRatings’ Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas has appeared on CNN straight talking issues related to the 737 MAX.

Thomas refuted claims that the 737 MAX was rushed through to catch up with the Airbus A320neo.

He said, in fact, the opposite was the case with the 737 MAX design taking longer than any other 737 upgrades.

Thomas added that suggestions by some media that safety options for the 737 MAX are lucrative for aircraft manufacturers were nonsense.

“Options are a nightmare for Boeing and Airbus and snarl production lines leading too expensive delays,” Thomas said.

For decades aircraft manufacturers have striven to limit or eliminate options to make the production process smoother and more profitable. Read the full story here.

4 COMMENTS

  1. The article is contradictory. Having worked for an OEM, there were many install or delete options offered on customers’ aircraft.
  2. I think you are a bit confused Geoffrey. In the CNN interview you mention disconnecting the autopilot with a stabiliser runaway. However, in the case of the MAX 8, a disconnected autopilot is one of the items which actually arms MCAS.
  3. Yes indeed Tim....I was just going through the standard checklist of Runaway Stab Trim. In the NG there are four conditions that will cause runaway Stab Trim and Five in the MAX. I should have noted that if it was MCAS (MAX) then the autopilot would be disconnected already
  4. Not really. The article states that manufacturers want to eliminate them as they are messy and sometimes costly. There are NO options in the 787 cockpits. They want to move well away from the 101 shades of white paint that was part of the 747 era