The 737 Max crisis could destroy Boeing's plans for the 797

Problems with Boeing's 737 Max killed 346 people. The plane's grounding has cost the company billions of dollars and caused problems for airlines around the globe. Now the 737 Max crisis could delay or even end Boeing's plans for a new mid-size airplane, widely expected to be called the Boeing 797. Before the crisis, the aviation industry expected Boeing would go ahead with plans for the plane. Now several experts say the chances are about 50-50, at best.<br/>"I gave a presentation in January where I said it was about a 65% chance," said Richard Aboulafia, aerospace analyst with the Teal Group. "Now it's still in our forecasts, but it's hanging by a thread." Boeing says it continues to work on plans for the potential plane, even in the face of the 737 Max crisis, which began in the wake of two crashes in the last 10 months — a Lion Air jet last October and Ethiopian Airlines in March. "The Max has been our priority and we prioritize resources and people that focus on the Max," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's CEO, at an investor conference last week hosted by Jefferies. "But we do have a dedicated team that's continuing to work .. . the potential middle of the market airplane." The 797 would be a long-range jet that could seat about 250 passengers — more than a current single-aisle jet like the 737 Max, but less than a typical widebody jet like the 787 Dreamliner, which can seat up to 335. It would allow airlines to serve long routes where there might not be enough traffic to fill a larger plane, allowing passengers to have non-stop flights instead of transferring in a hub. But Muilenburg said in April 2018 that Boeing would weigh plans for the new plane "over the next year," raising expectations that a decision to move ahead with the plane would be announced by mid-2019. But that by the time Boeing was devoting most of its attention to the 737 Max crisis, not a new plane. Story has more analysis.<br/>