Boeing says it has to ‘re-earn’ public’s trust after crashes

A senior Boeing executive said Saturday company kws it has to re-earn public’s trust as it works to win approval from U.S. regulators to get its grounded 737 Max jets flying again after crashes that killed 346 people. Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said company’s “number one focus remains safely returning Max.” Chicago-based Boeing has spent past year making changes to flight software that played a role in crashes of two of its 737 Max jets.

Deal said company kws it has “to restore confidence of our customers and flying public in Boeing.” “We kw we got to re-earn that trust,” Deal said. Deal, whose division oversees jet, spoke to reporters in Dubai ahe of biennial Dubai Airshow, which starts Sunday and is expected to produce major deals between commercial and military manufacturers and Mideast buyers. Boeing has customers in region financially impacted by grounding of 737 Max, including budget carrier Flydubai, which has more than a dozen of jets in its fleet and more on order. Boeing is working to compensate both its customers and families of victims who died in crashes.

Internal Boeing documents have revealed that before crashes company employees h raised concerns about automated flight-control system that played a part in pushing planes’ ses down until jets plummeted, as well as hectic pace of airplane production at Boeing. Boeing began working on updating plane’s flight software shortly after last year’s Oct. 29 crash of a Lion Air jet off coast of Indonesia. After second crash — an Ethiopian Airlines Max that went down near dis Ababa after takeoff on March 10 - plane was grounded around world. In questioning before U.S. senators last month, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg ackwledged company “me mistakes, and we got some things wrong.” Boeing has settled dozens of lawsuits filed by families of passengers killed in two crashes. Terms of settlements are being kept confidential at Boeing’s insistence, according to lawyers.

“ number one goal here is safely returning, and FAA and regulators around world will pace schedule... and we’re fully supportive of that approach,” Deal told reporters in Dubai. company expects Federal Aviation ministration approval in January for a new pilot-training program around changes, which would let U.S. airlines resume using plane early next year, though it could take longer for regulators in or countries to approve changes. FAA, meanwhile, has t laid out a timetable for approving Boeing’s changes.