The Scoop: After a decade of turmoil, Boeing finally wins FAA approval of 737 Max 10

A decade after the design was revealed, Boeing has at last earned regulatory approval to ship its 737 Max 10 plane.

The narrow-body plane style had been marred by years of production and  safety woes and delays.

Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of the company’s commercial airline division, was clear on the importance of the plane in Boeing’s overall trajectory.

“Today is a very, very special day. It caps years of hard work and dedication by many. It marks another major milestone in our recovery, and it unlocks a key to our future growth.”

In a statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stressed the extensive safety testing that went into the approval.

“After extensive safety reviews – including thousands of hours of test flights – the team at the FAA is ready to approve this critical aircraft for sale,” Duffy said in a statement posted to the company’s website.

In addition to a press event at the company’s plant in Everett, Washington to announce the approval, the company also posted an Axios-style explainer on their website, complete with “why it matters” and “how we got here” subheds, all stressing the rigorous safety testing.

“The 737 MAX is the first airplane to be certified with full compliance to the 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act (ACSAA), which provided new mandates for documentation of safety assessments and human factors evaluations,” one section reads.

Why it matters: Boeing needs a win.

For years, the company has faced negative PR. It’s hard to overcome the viscerally terrifying image of someone nearly being sucked out of an airplane. A reputation for safety can be broken overnight, but it can’t be repaired as quickly.

Boeing is making the right moves by stressing the new safety testing, making this seem like the most rigorously tested plane ever approved. They also have the third-party approval of the FAA and Duffy reassuring the public that they’re safe to fly on the planes — and to the airlines that it’s safe to take delivery.

This alone won’t restore Boeing’s reputation. But as Pope noted, it’s a milestone on their way back to being a trusted name in one of the most safety-conscious fields.

Netflix’s Sarandos admits the streamer could ‘do better’

Less than a week after laying off 6% of its staff and making major leadership changes, Netflix reported its third-quarter earnings. Fourth-quarter guidance came in weaker than expected and the company cut its full-year advertising forecast.

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that while he didn’t see a need for a “fundamental shift” in the company’s core business, the company does “need better execution in the US.” Specifically, they’re changing their programming strategy, including with a pivot to new Chief Creative Officer Peter Rice.

“Peter Rice understands talent relations, and in a competitive market, creative talent have choices of where they want to work,” Sarandos said. “We want Netflix to always be the place that they love to do the best work of their ​life.”

While Sarandos acknowledges there’s work to be done, he remains a bit vague on the how. “Better execution,” especially in an industry fundamentally based on art and creativity, is a tricky thing. For now, Sarandos is giving his new leadership time to cook.

We’ll see how well that shakes out in the years ahead — it will take a long time to turn this ship.

Boomers don’t like influencers

Baby Boomers remain an important constituency for many businesses. But if those organizations are relying on influencers to get the word out, their efforts may fall flat.

A new survey from Morning Consult and Business Insider found that only 31% of Boomers trust influencer recommendations, half the number of other Gen Z (62%) and Millennials (64%). Gen X fell in the middle, with 51% trust.

Indeed, trust in influencers is falling among the Boomer cohort: 40% said they trust influencers less than they did two years ago.

Experts quoted in the Business Insider article said this could be due to older audiences not finding the content relatable, either because the influencers are much younger or they simply don’t post about things relevant to their life stage.

This data doesn’t necessarily say to stop using influencers to reach an older audience, but it does indicate that a specific and thoughtful strategy is required. Build your audience with care and treat this audience with the same thoughtful respect you would any other.

Instacart settles suit over alleged anti-American hiring practices

Instacart has paid the U.S. government $5 million to settle allegations that the company made it harder for American citizens to apply for certain jobs, requiring them to mail in materials rather than applying online.

The company continued to deny the allegations, but said it settled so it could keep its attention on business. According to a statement:

“We’re proud to be a U.S.-based grocery technology platform, employing thousands of American workers and serving millions of customers, retailers, shoppers and brands. Hiring and investing in American workers across our U.S. business is our priority, and we actively promote every role across many channels to ensure qualified U.S. candidates are always first in line for opportunities.”

At the moment, companies hiring foreign talent before Americans is being scrutinized by the Trump administration. The statement says all the right things, and the relatively small amount of money helps the company get back to business as usual.

The real question is: how will hiring practices change in the coming months and years?

Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.