“The image issue does not recover overnight”: consequences of the accident for Boeing and Jeju Air

The South Korean Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation indicated that a “thorough inspection” will be carried out on all Boeing 737-800s operated by the country’s airlines. And special emphasis will be placed on landing gear systems.

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It was 9:30 am (local time) when an aircraft from Bangkok (Thailand), of the Jeju Air airline, made an emergency landing at Muan International Airport.

The situation was alarming. After landing on its belly, the plane went off the runway until it crashed into a wall. The explosion generated a fireball that killed all the passengers, with the exception of two flight attendants who were in the tail of the ship and who were rescued from the rubble.

According to first reports, the plane collided with a flock of birds before landing, however, there could be other causes. For this reason, the South Korean authorities have begun investigations.

The concern is also due to the fact that, less than 24 hours after the fatal accident, another Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 had problems with its landing gear. According to the AFP news agency, he had to return to Gimpo airport in Seoul.

What could have caused the accident? On the one hand, a Europapress report points out the version of some specialists: they indicate that a sufficiently forceful impact could have caused a failure in the hydraulic system; while other aviation professionals consider the likelihood of such a coincidence to be difficult.

Rescuers have recovered the two ‘black boxes’, although in poor condition. From what was learned, damage to the data recorder could delay the investigation for weeks. “Decoding the flight data recorder could take up to a month,” South Korea’s Air Transport Board said.

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What will happen to Boeing?

But the accident not only leaves a tragedy for the family of the passengers and crew of Jeju Air Flight 2216. Almost immediately there was a massive cancellation of trips. According to an AFP report, between Sunday the 29th and Monday the 30th, 68,000 tickets for the low-cost airline were cancelled, although the company has indicated that the number of new reservations remains the same.

On the other hand, an airline worker indicated that “many customers are also asking if their plane is the Boeing 737-800, and if so, they want to cancel.”

For teacher Rosa Guimaray Ribeyro, it is a natural and “We must understand that in human beings the first instinct is survival.”

“The vast majority of its aircraft [de Jeju Air]if not 99%, belong to this Boeing model. The panic that has been generated by the fatal accident, the airline in itself already generates terrible fear, but knowing that the majority of its planes are this 737, which has several versions, has caused them to also be cancelled.explains the marketing professor and researcher at the Faculty of Management and Senior Management of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

But not only the public has reacted this way to the plane crash. A newspaper report The Economist points out that the three main Wall Street indices opened with falls on the morning of Monday the 30th, weighed down by the shares of the aerospace company, Boeing. This followed South Korea’s announcement to subject Boeing 737-800 aircraft to inspection.

This is a hard blow for the American firm that cannot be overcome overnight. Guimaray Ribeyro explains to The Commerce that in this field the psychological factor is very important. In addition to the shares on the Stock Market, he indicated that another impact is Boeing’s brand value, both in its functionality and in the image or feeling it seeks to convey.

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“In the case of Boeing on both axes it collapses. Functionally, a disaster of this magnitude scares the entire planet: it is the news everywhere. Regarding image issues, remember that in 2018 and 2019 there were already errors by other airlines. Then again you have a feeling of fear and distrust. I don’t think the shares are going to rise again. The theme of the image does not recover overnight. The news will continue, we will continue the investigations, the heartbreaking scenes.”adds the specialist.

Jeju Air shares fell up to 15% this Monday, the 30th. Also the shares of AK Holdings Inc, the largest shareholder of Jeju Air, fell more than 12% and those of several South Korean tourist agencies more than 5%.

Accident history

And indeed, it is not the first time that Boeing has been involved in a commercial airline accident.

It was in 2007 that the Boeing 737-800 plane, the same model that was involved in the accident in South Korea, exploded upon landing at Naha Airport, Japan, causing the death of 58 people. It was China Airlines flight 120.

But this plane model has variations that have also caused accidents. The most recent was presented on March 10, 2019. It was a Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, shortly after takeoff, killing 157 people. Another accident occurred on April 17, 2018, when a Boeing 737-700 suffered an explosion in one of its engines, causing the death of a passenger.

There are other air disasters that have marked this century, and that involve the manufacturer Boeing. The first occurred on November 12, 2001, when a Boeing 747-121 crashed in Queens, New York, shortly after takeoff.

In 2011, a Boeing 767-300ER failed in both engines shortly after takeoff in Warsaw, Poland, but managed to land without fatalities. And on December 28, 2014, an Airbus A320-216 from the same manufacturer crashed while attempting to land at Singapore International Airport, resulting in the deaths of 162 people.