Within aerospace and defense, the United States has long held a leading, some would say foundational, position. Immediately, the moon landing, space shuttle, and development of stealth technology come to mind. But even in commercial aviation, the US has played a prominent role in establishing and expanding its reach. Consider:
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has long been considered THE governing body for aircraft safety, with similar authorities in other countries and regions following the FAA’s lead in certifying aircraft and other safety-related decisions.
English is the internationally recognized language of commercial aviation, and all pilots must be able to converse with their peers and air traffic controllers in English, no matter their nationality. This is because the US and UK were pioneers in manufacturing and operating most of the the world’s aircraft more than 60 years ago.
Times are changing, of course. Airbus Industrie, not Boeing, was the first airframe manufacturer to introduce Fly-by-Wire on its commercial jetliners, an innovation increasingly prevalent on newer models. But for the most part, the US commercial aviation industry is still seen as a bedrock, something that can be counted on for careful analysis, sound decision making, and meticulous investigation when something goes wrong.
That’s why the current crisis of confidence is troubling. With two deadly 737Max accidents in just a few months, questions around the aircraft’s design decisions, sales approach, and certification process by the FAA continue to swirl. Fair or not, the questions and resulting loss of trust are significant for the entire industry. After all, if your trust is shaken in US commercial aviation, what’s left to maintain your confidence in commercial aviation overall?
It gets worse – international travel itself is core to the increasingly connected world economies. Boeing is, by far, the United States’ largest exporter. The Commerce Department’s monthly trade deficits rise and fall with the company’s delivery numbers. So, when airlines cancel orders, the impact ripples outward.
So how important is it for US commercial aviation to restore trust? It’s critical, not just for the US, but for the entire industry. The world’s airlines and airframe manufacturers have a tacit agreement to not compete on safety. It’s bad for the industry overall in so many ways.
The question is how to do it. It’s not simply a branding issue for a single airplane model, or even an issue for one airline, manufacturer or regulatory body. Trust runs deeper than that.
And while a reputation management campaign can’t solve the problem all on its own, it can highlight the concrete operational steps being taken to ensure accidents won’t be repeated. It can demonstrate the humanity behind a faceless corporate giant—the engineers who daily grapple with design issues, knowing millions of lives depend on their work.
That last point is very personal to me. I spent nearly 10 years at Boeing in Communications/PR and other roles. When I worked at Boeing in the 777 Flight Controls group, I sat next to engineers facing that very situation. They didn’t take safety lightly. They were almost fanatical about it, to the point of deliberately getting into heated debates on nearly every design decision to ensure nothing had been overlooked.
I don’t believe Boeing, the FAA or commercial aviation overall has an unrecoverable trust issue. But there does need to be a concentrated effort to show the world why their trust should remain in what is arguably, one of the greatest industries to bring people together and drive economic growth.
This post originally appeared on our PR partner Kredo Consulting’s site: