737 jet crash shakes Boeing’s tenuous recovery in China

Bloomberg

Boeing Co faces a new crisis after a 737 jet fell out of the sky in China, renewing concerns about its best-selling family of planes and extending one of the most turbulent periods in the aviation titan’s century-long history.
The 737-800 aircraft operated by China Eastern Airlines Corp nose-dived into mountainous terrain with 132 people on board, prompting the carrier to ground its fleet of the workhorse jets. The model is part of the so-called “next generation” of 737s that have amassed a good safety record since they were introduced in the 1990s.
The tragedy casts a harsh spotlight on Boeing after two of its 737 Max jets, the latest version of the narrow-body, plunged to earth in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people and leading to one of the longest groundings in aviation history.
The latest incident didn’t involve a Max. Still, it’s a setback for Boeing’s efforts to rebuild confidence in its safety culture and 737 family of jets, the company’s largest source of revenue. It also jeopardises the Chicago-based manufacturer’s nascent recovery in China, a critical step needed to rebound from three years of financial losses. Boeing had been on the verge of returning its Max aircraft to commercial service in the country, whose regulators were the first to ground the model in 2019.
The crash “comes at an extremely delicate time, with Boeing finally aiming to re-start 737 Max deliveries into China after a three-year halt,” Seth Seifman, an analyst with JPMorgan, said. “Chinese authorities’ comments in the coming days and weeks will, therefore, be critical for gauging the impact of this tragedy on Boeing’s recovery.”

Crash in China
Boeing said that it’s supporting its airline customer and is prepared to assist authorities in the US and China. Its shares fell 3.6% to $185.90 at the close of trading in New York and have tumbled 7.7% so far this year.
Flight MU5735 was cruising more than an hour into its flight from Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan province, to the port city of Guangzhou when it plunged sharply. The maneuver would have likely flung objects and any unbelted passengers violently to the ceiling. In just seconds the jet went from level flight to a descent rate of almost 31,000 feet per minute, according to data posted by FlightRadar24.

China has largest, youngest Boeing 737-800 fleet in world

Bloomberg

China has the world’s largest fleet of Boeing Co 737-800s, the aircraft involved in the crash
in the hills of Guangxi province, meaning that any further groundings of the jet could have a significant impact on domestic travel, according to aviation consultancy IBA Group Ltd.
China’s fleet of nearly 1,200 of the narrowbodies is also the world’s youngest, with an average age of about eight years, five below the global average, IBA said. The China Eastern Airlines Corp jet that crashed was delivered to the carrier in June 2015.
China Eastern has grounded its entire 737-800 fleet, the country’s sixth-largest. It has 89 of the aircraft. China Southern Airlines Co, another of the so-called Big Three state-backed carriers, has the most with 163, followed by Hainan Airlines Holding Co with 136, IBA data show. Air China Ltd has 97.