The sad saga of the Boeing 737 Max has been a slow-burning corporate, engineering, regulatory, human-interest and public-relations nightmare for going on six months now—with no end in sight. The magnitude of Boeing’s deadly foul-up is a frequent topic of conversation in airliner cockpits, and considerable ink has been spilled over the subject in both aviation and general media. Now, I’m not an aeronautical engineer, and I have yet to fly the 737, but quite a few of my friends are current or former 737NG pilots at various U.S. and European airlines. The general consensus is that the Max was simply one stretch too many of an airplane that had already been shoehorned into an ever-expanding number of sizes and roles until it barely resembled the well-considered original design.
Boeing 757: A Modern Classic
Key Takeaways:
- Boeing's recent issues with the 737 MAX and 787 are indicative of a decline in engineering excellence and a shift in corporate priorities following its 1997 merger.
- The Boeing 757 is lauded as a prime example of "old Boeing's" engineering prowess, praised for its powerful performance, versatility, and unique capability to efficiently serve demanding transcontinental and intercontinental narrow-body routes.
- Despite the 757's enduring success and pilot admiration, it went out of production due to its perceived cost-inefficiency for airlines, a gap Boeing has since failed to fill with a modern successor, leading to calls for the company to prioritize engineering vision.
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