Even if Boeing convinces pilots and federal regulators that a software fix makes its grounded 737 MAX airliner safe to fly, passengers are likely to balk.
A survey from Barclays Investment Bank shows 44% of fliers in North America and Europe would wait at least a year before traveling on the single-aisle jet once it returns to commercial service after two overseas crashes. Fifty-two percent, meanwhile, would choose another aircraft if given the opportunity, according to reports.
Barclays said in a note to investors Tuesday that it surveyed 1,765 fliers across a range of age groups, income levels, and travel frequency. The bank lowered its rating of Boeing shares on the grounds that “a large portion of fliers are likely to avoid the 737 MAX for an extended period of time when the grounding is lifted.”
The airliner has been grounded around the world since mid-March after two crashes that killed a total of 346 people. The Chicago-based aerospace giant linked the catastrophes to an issue with the jet’s anti-stall software, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, for which it’s developing a patch that will require Federal Aviation Administration approval.
[Related: Boeing sees airline pilots as key to restoring public trust in 737 MAX]
While the FAA initially believed it would approve the fix by April, Boeing extended the timeline to guarantee “pertinent issues” were addressed.
The planemaker cut production of the embattled airliner amid congressional and regulatory scrutiny that halted deliveries, and airlines in the United States have been forced to cancel flights through the travel-heavy summer months because of the grounding.
Boeing will likely take longer to ramp 737 MAX production back up than expected, and passengers’ desire to avoid the jets is “likely worse than anticipated,” wrote analyst David Strauss.
The MAX, Boeing’s latest version of a single-aisle jetliner introduced in 1967, is the best-selling model in the company’s history and a significant cash generator. While customers have ordered more than 4,600 of the jets, just 67 were flown in the U.S.
[Also read: Boeing 737 from Gitmo skids into Florida river with 142 passengers]
