Boeing's Stephanie Pope gives a press conference at Paris Le Bourget Airport, June 20, 2023.
Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON — BoeingAirbus's 737 Max production is showing signs of improving, the new head of its business unit said ahead of a major air show on Sunday, though he admitted the manufacturer has “disappointed” customers with delayed planes.
Boeing is trying to overcome several safety and manufacturing crises, including the mid-air door stopper explosion in January, that have delayed plane deliveries to airlines and prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to step up its oversight of the storied manufacturer.
Stephanie Pope, in her first news conference since taking the key job at the troubled planemaker in March, reiterated that Boeing is committed to increasing production of the Max to 38 units a month. Output fell to about 25 units a month in the first half of the year, according to analysts.
The Pope said Boeing is on the right path to improving its manufacturing quality, safety and delivery predictability, a “transformational change” that she said will take years.
“But that doesn't take away from the reality that we have let down” our customers, he said at a news conference ahead of the Farnborough Air Show outside London. “We have hurt their business and failed to deliver on commitments and be the partner they expect and need us to be.”
Boeing has unveiled a number of goals aimed at getting back on track, including improving worker training and manufacturing processes, among others. In the spring, it submitted an improvement plan to the FAA that the agency ordered after the January blowout.
“This plan is not a three-month plan,” Pope said. “I call it transformational because some of these actions will take years.”
As part of a leadership shakeup that promoted Pope to lead the commercial unit, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said Pope would step down at the end of the year.
Asked if she was interested in the position, Pope said she is focused on turning around the business unit.
“That's my priority,” he said.
Boeing's problems are not limited to its commercial program, however. Its defense unit has also had to deal with delays, including the cost-losing and delayed modification of two Boeing 747s that will serve as the next two Air Force One planes.
Boeing 737 MAX airplanes are assembled at the company's plant in Renton, Washington, U.S., June 25, 2024.
Jennifer Buchanan | Via Reuters
The unit's chief executive, Ted Colbert, said Boeing continues to “fight back against some of the challenges that really arose from supply chain challenges.”
Boeing will report quarterly results on July 31 and plans to report charges for that unit, Colbert said at the same news conference.
