“Southwest pilots union warns Boeing may be rushing 737 Max return”

“Boeing may be rushing its troubled 737 Max back into service and Southwest Airlines should consider buying planes from another aircraft maker, the union president for Southwest Airlines’ pilots said in a memo to his membership.

“The letter comes as Southwest — Boeing’s biggest 737 customer, with an all-737 fleet — delayed the estimated time it will again begin flying the grounded Max jets to March 2020.”

“Boeing is raising the threat of shutting down its 737 Max assembly lines to pressure regulators into clearing the plane, which has been grounded worldwide since last March after two fatal crashes, Southwest’s pilots union chief, Jon Weaks, said in the letter to his members. Weaks said letting the plane fly again soon would in turn would force airlines to resume making payments on their Max jets, which would help Boeing absorb some costs of getting the planes back in the air.

“‘Boeing will never, and should not ever, be given the benefit of the doubt again. The combination of arrogance, ignorance and greed should and will haunt Boeing for eternity,’ Weaks wrote. ‘I strongly concur with Southwest exploring obtaining a different and perhaps non-Boeing aircraft for the best interest of all our futures,‘” by Rachel Layne, CBS News. Read more