tdracer
Below is a very good summary of what happened at Boeing that continues to this day:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...arings/602188/
Keep in mind the Boeing CEO, purported to be a hard-nosed leader, was on the Boeing Board of Directors for 10 years all during the lead-up to and during the entire Boeing Max fiasco. Any leader who did due diligence would have discovered early on during that 10 year BOD tenure, that like it or not, the 737 could not compete against the Airbus A320 in the narrow body single aisle market. The Airbus had all the attributes Boeing didn't have and couldn't have without biting the bullet and designing a new aircraft to replace the old 737. Instead, the MAX was simply concocted as a cost saving measure.
Right now, Airbus holds a huge advantage over Boeing in the narrow-body jet market. Its A220 is far more efficient than the smallest 737 MAX. Meanwhile, the A321neo and its longer-range variants can fly further and boast better performance than the largest 737 MAX jets.
Boeing's best bet for countering Airbus' advantages would be to launch an all-new narrow-body jet family sooner rather than later. Today, CFMI dominates the engine market for small narrow-bodies. CFMI LEAP engines power all Boeing 737 MAX jets and nearly 60% of Airbus A320neos. The LEAP will also power the COMAC C919: a Chinese-built narrow-body jet that is on track to enter service within the next year.
Boeing's CEO's prediction that jet engines won't get much more efficient will likely prove off-base.