Boeing Software Fix to Max Will Be Costly Following Twin Crashes

  • 737 Max upgrades to be ordered for plane’s safety system
  • Crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia led to grounding of jet

The cockpit of a grounded Lion Air Boeing Co. 737 Max 8 aircraft at terminal 1 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cenkareng, Indonesia, on March 15.

Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg
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The software fix for Boeing Co.’s 737 Max models may end up costing the Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer billions of dollars as it redesigns a computerized flight-control system on hundreds of jets sitting idle around the world.

The fixes alone for the revamped version of Boeing’s single-aisle workhorse 737 could cost the company around $500 million if everything is resolved in six to eight weeks, according to Canaccord Genuity analyst Ken Herbert.