An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 Max aircraft parked on the runway at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, on March 21, 2019.
Lindsey Wasson | Reuters
boeingMax's latest crisis is forcing some of its biggest customers to rethink their growth plans this year, and possibly beyond, several airline CEOs said Tuesday.
His comments highlight how Boeing's biggest buyers have felt the effects of its problems: growing quality control problems, a slow ramp-up of production and certification of new planes that is years behind schedule.
Southwest Airlineswhich only flies Boeing 737s, cut its 2024 capacity forecast and said it was reassessing its 2024 financial guidance, citing fewer Boeing deliveries than it had previously expected this year: 46 Boeing 737 Max planes, down from 79.
“Boeing needs to become a better company and deliveries will follow that,” Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said at a JPMorgan industry conference Tuesday.
Alaska Airlines said Tuesday that its 2024 capacity estimates are “changing due to uncertainty about the aircraft delivery schedule as a result of increased scrutiny by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Justice of Boeing and its operations.”
united airlines CEO Scott Kirby said at the JPMorgan conference on Tuesday that the airline asked Boeing to stop building its Max 10 planes, a plane that has not yet been certified by the FAA, and to produce more Max 9s, which already They are flying.
“It's impossible to say when the Max 10 will be certified,” Kirby said. In January, Kirby said the airline would build a fleet plan without the Max 10 due to delays.
On Friday, United told staff it would have to pause hiring pilots this spring because new Boeing planes are arriving late, CNBC reported.
Frustration among airline bosses has been mounting in recent months since Boeing's latest crisis arose from a door panel that exploded midair from a Max 9 plane during a Alaska Airlines flight in January. The crash increased scrutiny on Boeing, and a preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board said bolts in the door panel did not appear to be secure when the planes left the company's factory in Washington state. .
“We are fully focused on implementing changes to strengthen quality across our entire production system and taking the time necessary to deliver high-quality airplanes that meet all regulatory requirements,” Boeing said in an emailed statement. “We continue to stay in close contact with our valued customers about these issues and our actions to address them.”
The FAA halted Boeing's planned production increases and said a recent audit “identified non-compliance issues in Boeing's manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control.”
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun and other leaders have vowed to crack down on quality control problems and have taken several breaks in work to discuss issues with workers.
On Tuesday, Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing's commercial aircraft unit, told staff that the company would work with employees who were found to have noncompliance issues during the audit to ensure they “fully understand the instructions and procedures.” of work” and implement weekly compliance checks and plan more audits this month.
In a memo to staff, Deal said employees must “precisely follow every step of our manufacturing procedures and processes” and “always be alert to potential safety hazards,” and told employees that they “have full power to report it through their manager or the Speak Up portal, so we address it immediately rather than moving the risk to the next person or position.”
