This Aircraft is Boeing’s Last Hope

Everyone knows that Boeing as a company is in danger. Their praised plane the 737 Max has tarnished their reputation of safety. The Boeing 797 (Boeing NMA) could be a chance for Boeing to recover, but they must be conscientious in their development of the aircraft. As a company, Boeing has already shown that they do not work well under pressure. This is ultimately what caused the 737 max to be a failure. Airbus released the A320 Neo and installed CFM International Leap – 1A engines. This engine was praised by air companies mainly for its fuel efficiency. The issue for Boeing was that they were not expecting Airbus to put such an engine on the A320 Neo. The A320 Neo released, and it’s sales were exceeding expectations. Boeing then understood that if their 737 max was released with their standard Pratt and Whitney PW2000 engines, their plane would be no match for Airbus’. Airbus’ plane had already been out for roughly a year at this point, and Boeing was failing to secure orders on their aircraft. For this reason, they “forced” the CFM International Leap engines onto their planes. Since the engines were too large, they moved them higher and closer to the front of the plane. This would cause the plane to pitch back and almost stall during takeoff, so they rushed a software system to force the plane’s nose to the proper angle of attack. This rushed software malfunctioned on two separate occasions, and the plane crashed. What Boeing should have done was redesign either their classic Pratt and Whitney engine or their classic Rolls Royce engines. Surely, this would have taken more time but it would have ensured safety.

History seems to almost be repeating itself now. Airbus announced their A321 Lr. This is a mid size plane that can easily fly transatlantic, and with such a large takeoff weight capacity, can support flights from Europe to Asia. Boeing’s 797, however, is speculated to be the better plane. It will allow small airline companies to open up routes many thought were impossible. For example, the 797 will support a root from Gatwick, London to Dallas, Texas. A combination of things allows this to happen, but it is mainly that the plane is fuel efficient enough to support point to point flying. Some have speculated that the plane will be 40% cheaper to operate than the A320 Neo. The issue is that the plane was supposed to be featured at the Paris air show in June. It has been delayed to 2020. In the meantime, the A321Lr is securing orders. The 797 is made to replace many company’s old 757 and 767 aircraft. What’s interesting is that many companies need to replace these planes soon, and have not purchased the A321Lr. This could be because the airline companies simply don’t want to switch their plane supplier because that would mean new pilots and new mechanics (etc.), or maybe the 797 is simply a better plane. Since the A321Lr isn’t getting as many purchases, this could mean that companies still do have faith in Boeing. When Boeing finally releases its product, there will be a definite answer. Boeing just has to fulfill their promises of the 797 and NOT rush it. They cannot afford to have another new plane crash. If it did, the company might as well be put in a coffin. The 797 could save Boeing or cause its existence to cease.