Seems to me that Boeing is counting on two things:
1. People’s short memories
2. The fact that airline passengers book blights on an airline, not on a plane. How many consumers will make the effort to research what make/model their preferred airlines fly, and change their behavior (whether it’s choosing an airline without the 737 Max 8, or putting pressure on the airline to change their fleet).
That is an interesting theory, but Boeing’s customers are airlines, not passengers. If airlines are concerned with excessive maintenance costs to upgrade aircraft or systems that are shipped in beta, they’ll think twice about buying Boeing vs Airbus. Likewise, if airlines’ capital is tied up in fleets of grounded aircraft, then they will demand better financing terms when purchasing aircraft to begin with.
Seems to me that Boeing is counting on two things:
1. People’s short memories
2. The fact that airline passengers book blights on an airline, not on a plane. How many consumers will make the effort to research what make/model their preferred airlines fly, and change their behavior (whether it’s choosing an airline without the 737 Max 8, or putting pressure on the airline to change their fleet).
That is an interesting theory, but Boeing’s customers are airlines, not passengers. If airlines are concerned with excessive maintenance costs to upgrade aircraft or systems that are shipped in beta, they’ll think twice about buying Boeing vs Airbus. Likewise, if airlines’ capital is tied up in fleets of grounded aircraft, then they will demand better financing terms when purchasing aircraft to begin with.