Boeing Has A Big Problem And It’s Only Getting Worse
Boeing's reputation is tanking and one circumstance is only making things worse for the plane manufacturer.
This article is more than 2 years old
Boeing has had some issues with its planes lately. Last week an airplane in China crash-landed in the mountains near the city of Wuzhou. The decision to land the plane was made by the China Eastern Alliance, which had more than 130 people on board. Members of the alliance are still speculating on why the plane crashed.
Unfortunately for Boeing, its issues with China run more profound than this fatal crash. China holds one of the most successful and prominent aviation markets, but Boeing is on the brink of being excluded. Due to complicated trade relations between China and the United States. For the most part, The US has stopped the sales of Boeing planes to China since 2018, and the company hasn’t released any statistics on deals with China since 2017.
Boeing furthered its tumultuous relationship with the Chinese aviation market by supplying them with improperly-built planes. The company’s best-selling jet, the Max 737, had to be grounded in 2019 due to several fatal disasters due to design flaws. This definitely affected the success of Boeing planes, especially in China, which hadn’t gotten new planes from the company since 2019. The apparent design problems with this Boeing aircraft concerned many countries and have continued to affect their sales outside the US today.
With all the chaos from the Max 737, it would be wise for most countries to ground it continuously. After the two fatal crashes, the Max 737 was grounded for more than 20 months, but most countries lifted that ban afterward. Boeing’s best-seller was flying the skies again in November 2020, which was approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration. While other countries soon followed suit, China stood firm on its disapproval of the jet. To this day, the Boeing Max 737 is not allowed to fly by the Chinese government.
The pandemic has also affected the sales of Boeing planes globally. After quarantine began in March 2020, going on vacation or using public transit was unheard of. This tanked the airline economy, with virtually no one flying until the following year. Even with the vaccine’s distribution and nationwide mandate liftings, the airline business is still dealing with the financial burden leftover from 2020.
Boeing, along with the recent crash in China, is having another plane issue. The 787 Dreamliner was revealed to have many problems with its construction, which have been continuously brought up since August 2021. Reports show that the fuselage was not properly joined together, infringing on precise airplane standards. The inspection revealed that the fuselage problem was too big an issue not to acknowledge. Boeing publically stated that they are working to fix this issue and that the current 787s in operation do not need to be grounded.
Boeing has been a strong force in the US aviation market. But with many issues plaguing their aircraft construction and business tanking in China, the company may be on its way out. The surprising and upsetting recent crashes of Boeing planes are a concerning affair that Boeing will hopefully continue to investigate.
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