The problem is that a few crashed Boeings could lead to massive distrust of airline travel across the globe. Is that a larger long-term economic drain than grounding Boeings for a year? I'm not even sure how you'd begin to model that. Heck, I'm not sure we collectively know how to evaluate the risk of any given Boeing falling apart mid-air. It's probably still very, very low, but it might not take much to put people off flying completely.

Yes, it's almost like the penalties should be severe

It's already put me off flying completely.

I’d rather not fly, or have to pay more for a ticket on a fully reliable plane, than fly in a Boeing.

If non-Boeing tickets were an optional upgrade when booking, I’d take it.