plans for a public affairs campaign
I dont think part of the aerospace professionals community is waiting for such a "campaign". It is far too late for that. These quoted words alone puts off people even further.
As I posted early on in the initial thread ... Boeing would have been wise to let the 'chief engineer with actual signature responsibility' (so not a manager, not even the CEO, and certainly not 'slick or legal talkers') publicly and clearly explain what Boeing had done before the accidents happened. That would not have been in conflict with the running investigations. The lack of timely and trustworthy information at an early stage has eroded confidence in many quarters. Even to this day Boeing information is lagging what is available and discussed in professional circles.
Openness is safety. Boeing has historically been able to be both more open and legally 'correct' at the same time.
What the Boeing approach seems to forget is that after 'the public' hears something that many people check up with professionals to further explain it to them. Questions like where do I sit and who should I fly with, have changed in how do I recognize a MAX, how do I recognize a 737, and are other Boeing aircraft even safe to fly with.
A new question among professionals is - did Boeing v1.0 morph into a Boeing v2.0 and when ... did it start with the 787 or is something else going on ... and what does it mean for the other designs ... for existing aircraft and future aircraft like the 777X...
It appears Boeing has to act much faster and much clearer or this goes out of hand even further.
One step further than this and we are talking about strategic and systemic failure, where both certainly include Boeing and the FAA and are now dragging in airlines too.