Today, Friday October 29 marks three years since the Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 MAX crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after take-off and claimed the lives of 189 people. As history will remember, a related incident, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019 led to a global grounding of the 737 MAX aircraft.
This week, Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun published an open letter to employees addressing the company’s third-quarter results but first remembering the Lion Air incident and its lessons
“I ask all Boeing employees to join me in taking a few, solemn moments on Friday to remember those lives lost. The memories of those 189 victims, as well as the 157 people who lost their lives on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, drive the important work we do and forever remind us of the trust the flying public places in us to bring them to their destination safely. Across Boeing, we must continue to learn from our past, let our strong values guide us, and honor the memories of those lives lost by ensuring a steadfast focus on safety, quality, integrity and transparency in all we do.” he wrote
Fast forward 2021 and it looks like faith has been restored in the aircraft. It was reported by cirium that about 370 Boing 737 MAX aircraft are actively flying around the global with the global fleet rising to 580 after 180 deliveries at the time of the report were made since December 2020. This number rises above a reported peak of 368 active MAX aircraft at the time of the grounding of the global fleet in the wake of the ET302 crash.
CEO, Dave Calhoun had this to say to employees regarding the return of the MAX:
“During the third quarter, we delivered 62 737s, the most since the first quarter of 2019. Since the FAA’s approval to return the 737 MAX to operations, we have delivered more than 195 737 MAX aircraft; and airlines have returned more than 200 previously grounded airplanes to service, safely flying more than 500,000 flight hours. Demand also remains strong, and we have achieved eight straight months of positive net orders, largely driven by the 737. To meet this demand, we’re now producing at a rate of 19 airplanes per month, and plan to steadily increase that rate to 31 per month in early 2022.”
photo: via @ cnbc.com
