[ad_1]
Boeing Co. is hiring up to 160 pilots to join airlines in its latest offering to ensure its 737 Max makes a smooth return after a 20-month safety ban, according to a hiring document seen by Reuters and people familiar with. measure.
The new “Global Engagement Pilots” will act as instructors or cabin observers on 35-day assignments with an equivalent annual salary that could reach $ 200,000, for a total potential cost of $ 32 million, one of the people said.
The unusual wave of hires is part of a Boeing campaign to protect the relaunch of its redesigned 737 Max from operational failures and rebuild confidence after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a total of 346 people.
The strategy also includes 24/7 surveillance of 737 Max flights globally and talking points for flight attendants to reassure passengers who express concern.
“Duties include: consulting activities and customer service assistance, including flight opportunities,” according to a summary seen by Reuters of the terms of work for a hiring company conducting recruiting on behalf of Boeing.
Pilots must have 1,000 hours of instructor experience and “have no incidents, accidents, losses or violations,” and be licensed for the 737 and other Boeing aircraft, he said.
“We continue to work closely with global regulators and customers to safely return the 737-8 and 737-9 to service around the world,” said a Boeing spokesperson.
Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have said the plane is among the safest in the world after improvements to cockpit software and pilot training.
But a smooth return to service is seen as vital for Boeing, which faces $ 20 billion costs for grounding.
Boeing has already drawn up plans for an initial $ 1 billion investment in pilot recruitment, training and development for the next generation of pilots.
But safety experts said its decision to recruit pilots directly is unusual and signals Boeing’s desire to reactivate return to service and normalize the Max as soon as possible.
Extra pilots
CCL Aviation, based on the British Isle of Man, is hiring the pilots on behalf of Boeing, according to the sources and the document. The company calls itself the world’s largest provider of flight training personnel and instructor pilots.
CCL Aviation could not immediately be reached for comment.
The additional pilots are just one of the ways Boeing is keeping a close eye on the 737 Max launch.
Boeing also installed a 24/7 war room at its Seal Beach, California facility, where personnel using massive LCD screens will “monitor the fleet in real time” for a ” rapid problem resolution “if emergencies arise, sources informed about the plan told Reuters. .
Boeing has also deployed “specialized teams to the site” with 154 team members supporting five regions of the world.
It has held discussions with dozens of airlines to produce documents that carriers will use to discuss the safety of the 737 Max with passengers, according to a person with knowledge of the effort.
That includes a one-page manual that gives flight attendants short, simple answers to passenger questions about what went wrong during the 737 Max crashes and how Boeing fixed the problems, the person and a second source said. the industry.
But the inclusion of language on “shared responsibility” caused delays and annoyed some airlines, the second person said.
Indonesian researchers have said that Boeing failed to understand the risks in designing the Max’s cockpit software, sowing the seeds of a 2018 accident that also involved mistakes by airline workers and crew. US regulators approved the Max last month.
