Alaska Airlines boss lashes out after Boeing incident: “I’m angry!”

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“I’m furious,” Alaska Airlines’ Ben Minicucci told US broadcaster NBC. He added that Alaska had found loose fasteners on “many” other Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft in the area. The Alaska boss did not give an exact figure.

On January 5, shortly after takeoff, part of the fuselage of the nearly new Alaska plane with more than 170 people on board broke off. Instead, some configurations of more seat types have a door. However, this version of the 737-9 Max has a cover that covers the opening.

The FAA and other officials ordered all approximately 170 similar aircraft of this type to be grounded for investigation. No one was seriously injured in the incident; but by a lucky coincidence, two seats right next to the entrance remained vacant.

Last year I bet on Boeing

Alaska has 65 aircraft of this type. They make up about a fifth of the airline’s fleet. Just last year, Alaska sold several Airbus planes to rely on Boeing. The airline now wants to send more of its own inspectors to the aircraft manufacturer’s production lines.

United Airlines boss Scott Kirby also criticized Boeing on Tuesday but was more reserved in his choice of words. Kirby said several times on CNBC that he was “disappointed.” He demanded that Boeing finally get production problems under control.

Kirby also said United will prepare future flight plans without the new 737-10 Max aircraft. Certification of the aircraft is still pending and United is no longer counting on it arriving this year as planned. Kirby emphasized that without the 737-10 Max, United would grow more slowly than planned. (SDA)

Source :Blick