It may be a civilian aircraft, but the story of the Boeing 737 Max has been more maneuverable than that of the F-15. First, the latest version of the groundbreaking 737 was the fastest-selling plane ever. Then tragedy struck, when two 737 Max planes crashed in rapid succession, forcing the FAA to limit production of the plane and forcing Boeing to spend more time on safety inspections. Things seemed to be getting better, but in 2024 a window panel burst mid-flight, terrifying the passengers. The following year, its arch-rival the Airbus A320 family overtook the 737 family in lifetime deliveries. As a result of all this chaos, the 737 Max is now officially… Boeing’s best-selling plane of all time? I will need an oxygen mask for this.
seattle times It is reported that in June, the 737 Max officially overtook its predecessor, the 737 Next-Generation, in total orders. This brings the number of current orders for the embattled airliner to 7,206, more than half of which are yet to be built. The aviation sector is growing rapidly, and as much of the global fleet is approaching retirement age, demand for new aircraft is increasing. It follows Boeing’s recent surge, including overtaking Airbus in annual sales for the first time since 2018. Meanwhile, the FAA is slowly loosening its grip on the plane maker: In October, the cap was raised from 38 planes per month to 42, which was raised again to 47 in May, which may soon be raised again to 53. easy flight. Boeing has also gained the ability to certify its own planes for safety (well, half the time, anyway). Overall, this means that both production and orders have increased! what could go wrong?
Safe aircraft and tough competition
For all of us, the risk is that Boeing could again be chasing money at the expense of safety. That’s how the 737 Max became a problem child in the first place. actually, the same Existence One symptom of the Max is this: Boeing could have built an entirely new plane to compete with the A320, but as a cost-saving measure, it decided to build an updated version of the 737 instead. This is an airframe that first flew in 1967 and also does not feature fly-by-wire controls, which every other aircraft still flying has. Boeing Chairman and CEO Kelly Ortberg continues to insist that the company’s culture has changed Back to the safety-first focus that had prevailed for decades. It remains to be seen whether this fits in with the increased production speed.
The problem for Boeing is that Airbus is continuously overtaking it. Oh, the 737 Max took out 7,206 orders? He is cute. Only one version of the A320, the A321neo, has drawn 7,769. There are 12,104 across the entire A320neo family. The Airbus Narrowbody features remarkable range, relatively low flight costs, no history of mid-air fall, and fly-by-wire controls. It also has side sticks instead of a yoke, which is worth it. Boeing has its work cut out for it to convince the aviation sector that the Max is the better choice.
