I think specification here refers to the type specification of the aircraft. It's not putting the burden on the pilots but rather on the lack of pilot training due to Boeing and airlines not wanting to bear the cost of training pilots to a new aircraft type.
> airlines not wanting to bear the cost of training pilots to a new aircraft type.
This is a perfectly reasonable request by the airlines. Some airlines rely on the operational efficiency of a single aircraft type. It lets them interchange parts and people and not have to worry that the wrong airplane is in the wrong spot.
What is NOT reasonable was Boeing providing an aircraft that actually had MAJOR differences yet claiming it was the same.
And what makes it particularly stupid is no airline that relies on a single airplane type is going to switch from Boeing to Airbus because they would have to migrate their entire fleet en masse. So Boeing had plenty of time to certify the 737 MAX airframe properly.
