Boeing is hiring its own team of up to 160 pilots to work with airlines to relaunch their favorite 737 Max as the aircraft returns to worldwide service.
The manufacturer is looking for pilots with instructor experience to watch and assist airline pilots once flights of the 737 Max resume in the new year. The pilots will be given 35-day assignments at an equivalent annual salary that could reach $ 200,000 (£ 148,000), with a potential total cost of $ 32m, Reuters first reported.
Most airlines plan to begin flying the 737 Max in the early months of 2021. American Airlines will begin its first commercial flights on December 29th.
A smooth return to service for the 737 Max is crucial for Boeing’s fortunes, after the model was established from March 2019 after two crashes that killed a total of 346 people.
The crisis halted U.S. manufacturer, forcing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg to resign, and costing more than $ 20bn in compensation to victims’ families and families and production costs. more.
The 737 Max crisis meant that Boeing fell far behind its bitter European rival, Airbus, in the battle to become the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer, and left ee in a weak financial position when a coronavirus pandemic caused a sharp decline in global air traffic. Boeing said in October that 30,000 of its 160,000 employees would be laid off by the end of 2021 while trying to withdraw.
The two challenges of the crashes and the pandemic have meant that orders for the 737 Max have gone down, although Ryanair this month ordered 75 of the jets, possibly at a steep discount.
Boeing has made a number of changes to the way the 737 Max flies to prevent recurrences that contributed to the fatal crashes, namely an anti-stall incentive system that triggered the plane’s nose go down.
In addition to the additional pilots, Boeing has set up a 24-hour monitoring facility in California to respond immediately in the event of an emergency. They are also working with airlines on talking points for discussing the 737 Max with passengers.
Reuters reported that a Isle of Man-based company, CCL Aviation, was hiring a pilot.
CCL Aviation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, her website advertised job opportunities for Boeing 737, 777 and 787 model captains with tutoring experience.
The announcement said the pilots needed more than 1,000 hours of scheduled airline training experience for airlines, with no “incidents, accidents, losses or breakdowns” on their schedule.
A Boeing spokesman said: “We continue to work closely with global regulators and customers to return the 737-8 and 737-9 to worldwide service. ”