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SEATTLE (Reuters) – 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 recruiting document seen by Reuters. and familiar people. with the move.
The new “global participation pilots” will act as instructors or cockpit 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 accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a total of 346 people.
The strategy also includes 24/7 surveillance of 737 MAX flights around the world and talking points for flight attendants to reassure passengers who express concern.
“Functions include: consulting activities and customer service assistance, including flight opportunities,” according to a summary seen by Reuters of the terms of work for a contracting 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 regulators and global customers to safely return the 737-8 and 737-9 to service around the world,” said a Boeing spokeswoman.
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 push for a return to service and normalize the MAX as soon as possible.
EXTRA PILOTS
CCL Aviation, based in the Isle of Man, UK, 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 closely following the launch of the 737 MAX.
Boeing also installed a 24/7 war room at its Seal Beach, California facility, where staff using massive LCD screens will provide “real-time fleet monitoring” for “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 talks 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 from the company said. industry.
But the inclusion of “shared responsibility” language caused delays and upset some airlines, the second person said.
Indonesian investigators have said that Boeing failed to understand the risks in the design of the MAX’s cockpit software, sowing the seeds of a 2018 accident that also involved mistakes on the part of the airline’s workers and crew. US regulators approved the MAX last month.
Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Edited by Tim Hepher and David Gregorio
