Support for MAX brand wavers as Boeing jet nears green light

intellectually we could think with all the testing and scrutiny this bastard child of boeing aerospace has undergone, that it would be "safe" I prefer to think of it like a house that a mass murder had taken place in, that had been repainted, new furniture, new windows, new floors-but still was the residence where bad things took place. A bit overdramatic perhaps, but boeing is the one with the odor in the room, the bad events that took place in their product. Their silly corporate happy-speak and hand-holding with the FAA notwithstanding...If you don't know the history of either the aircraft Max or that fictional house, well you just might like what you see. Not so much if you are aware of hstory....

proud to be a bluffoon and am in good company. We buffoons, so-called, have a strong preservation streak and reflex, and a general distrust of untrustworthy federal agencies and companies they conspire with to defraud us all. Any prospective passenger in one of these Boeing Bucking Bronco's who is not just a tad antsy has not been paying attention, or has been attending outdoor rallies without protective masks.

But what has been done is still only an improvement to a software "fix", that is necessary because the aircraft is not a "new build", but a cobbled together upgrade to an earlier model. I will not fly on a plane that is, basically, ill-conceived at base, and needs a "fix" to counter an underlying problem.
I suspect most passengers will feel the same, and airlines will be forced to take the MAX out of service, for lack of demand.
As for safety exits, Mike, in most crashes no-one gets the chance to use them, however close to their seat. I would be interested to know if there are statistics telling us how many lives have been saved thanks to safety exits, as a percentage of lives lost in air accidents.

George, Mike, and Patrick, you’re all buffoons!

I've read that the 'urban myth' is that you should try and get within 6 seats of an exit door to have much chance of getting out, of any plane. I have also read that the percentage of people who survive an accident is higher than many would suspect. Unfortunately for me, to fly to see my daughter I have to fly on whatever Ryanair provide, luckily only an hours flight.

In my opinion one would have to be extremely brave or downright stupid to want to fly in this thing (with the greatest of respect to the air crew, may your gods be with you ) It will have to have flown at least two years without any significant incident of any kind before I'll even begin to consider stepping foot in one.

"This approach is consistent with other fleet types where we do not have different safety cards for sub-fleets".

Hmm, so how do you handle the extra escape door , just behind the ring on the "8-200" cattle-truck variant which Ryanair is betting the farm on? Whenever I board a plane, I count the seat rows to the nearest hole in the fuselage - fore and aft. The absence of a door, shown on "standard type-wide cards" would probably spook a few passengers as they look around to familiarise themselves during briefings.

The standard passenger response - for a few years at least - would be "A 737 (*any* 737) - how do I get off if this thing heads south?"

The advertisement tag-line (“Flown by Boeing test pilots. Do not attempt”) is just gold-dust.

I really hope these things stay in the air.
Mike