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:
- The Boeing 737 Max and 787 issues underscore a decline in Boeing's engineering excellence since its merger with McDonnell Douglas, shifting focus from quality design to cost-cutting.
- The article champions the Boeing 757 as a benchmark of "old Boeing" engineering, praising its exceptional design, performance, and versatility that continue to make it indispensable for demanding long-range, high-payload narrow-body missions.
- Despite the 757's enduring capabilities, it was discontinued for being "too much airplane" from an airline management perspective, and Boeing's current struggle to develop a modern replacement (NMA/797) highlights the company's need to rediscover its engineering-focused culture.
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