I stand by my first post. (not sure if it's on this thread or not).
The Boeing 737 Max series aircraft may have flaws, failures or require software modifications for it's continued, safe employment worldwide. BUT
With all due respect to the families and friends of those lost in the recent accidents....I firmly believe that primary cause of the accidents was insufficient training and pilot error.
Choose carefully when you fly.
I believe you'll find that the airlines listed below operate the 737 Max aircraft more frequently on a single route than the fleet totals (Max) for Lion Air and Ethiopian.
If your airline is flying with pilots (any) that have only 200 hours.....I suggest you rebook.
Below, the statements of the major US 737-Max Airline Pilots as summarized on a recent INC. article:
Jon Weaks, president of
Southwest Airlines Pilots Association
issued a strident statement, which read in part:
I have been in numerous conversations today with Southwest Vice President of Flight Operations Captain Alan Kasher, who informed me that the MAX aircraft has 17,000 recordable parameters and Southwest has compiled and analyzed a tremendous amount of data from more than 41,000 flights operated by the 34 MAX aircraft on property, and the data supports Southwest's continued confidence in the airworthiness and safety of the MAX. He added: I will continue to put my family, friends, and loved ones on any Southwest flight and the main reason is you, the Pilots of SWAPA. We have lobbied hard for our training to continue to evolve and improve, and due to having the finest union Training and Standards Committee in the industry, that is occurring.
Some will fear that all training should have been done before the plane ever took flight.
However, his counterparts at
American Airlines agree. Their union, the Allied Pilots Association, said it was entirely confident in the MAX and issued this statement:
The pilots for the world's largest airline have the necessary training and experience to troubleshoot problems and take decisive actions on the flight deck to protect our passengers and crew.
If anything, the
United Airlines pilots union, the ALPA, was most bullish in its words. United flies the slightly larger 737 MAX 9.
The master chairman of the United chapter of the union, Todd Insler,
told Forbes:
We have a pretty robust flight safety data reporting system here at United. We have flown 23,000 hours in the MAX 9 and not one of those thousands of data points shows [a problem] related to aircraft performance or mechanical deficiency. He added: We're trying not to be emotional about this. The facts, the data points at United, show why we are confident in our ability to fly this airplane.
Many will be heartened that, as the MAX continues to fly around America, those piloting the plane are confident that it's safe.
Some passengers, however, will react emotionally. It's called being human.
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Gary Kelly's internal memo to SWA employees:
According to news reports, the memo to employees read in part: Our experience with the MAX, along with the other U.S. operators, has been phenomenal.
We've operated over 40,000 flights covering almost 90,000 hours. There is a ton of data collected, which we continuously monitor. In all our analysis since our first flight in 2017,
nothing has presented any flight safety concerns. It has been a superb addition to our fleet.
American Airlines statement on it's 737 Max operations:
American regularly monitors aircraft performance and safety parameters across our entire fleet, including extensive flight data collection. This data, along with our analysis, gives us confidence in the safe operation of all of our aircraft, and contributes to American’s exemplary safety record. American has flown more than 2.5 million passengers — during 46,400 operating hours encompassing nearly 18,000 flights — safely on our MAX 8 fleet since the first one was delivered Sept. 2017 and began commercial service later that November.