Boeing 737 Max and the struggle to regain trust

Ryanair is among the airlines hoping for the aircraft to be cleared to return to the skies after two fatal crashes, but will customers be ready?

Ryanair has ordered 135 of the grounded Boeing 737 Max. Picture: Gary He/Getty Images

After grounding their Boeing 737 Max fleets for most of 2019, airlines expect to resume flying the plane in early 2020. While that’s good news for carriers that have ordered almost 5,000 of the jetliners –including Ryanair, which has 135 on order– a big question remains: will passengers be nervous about flying in a plane involved in two high-profile fatal crashes?

Airlines with the 737 Max must convince many customers that the aircraft ...