Boeing: How much trouble is the company in?

BBC News ^ | March 18, 2024 | Theo Leggett

[MinorityRepublican]

"It's as if I'm watching a troubled child" is how Captain Dennis Tajer describes flying a Boeing 737 Max.

The head of the Allied Pilots Association, the pilots union for American Airlines, insists he would never board an aircraft if it were not safe.

But he says he can no longer take the quality of the plane he's flying for granted.

"I'm at an alert status that I've never had to be in on a Boeing airplane," he says.

"Because I don't trust that they've followed the processes that have previously kept me safe on Boeing airplanes for over three decades."

Executives at the aerospace giant's shiny new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia could be forgiven for feeling like they are under siege.

Every day seems to bring more bad headlines for the company, which is coming under pressure from regulators and airlines, and has seen its reputation badly damaged.

The trouble began in January, when a disused emergency exit door blew off a brand new Boeing 737 Max shortly after take-off from Portland International Airport.

An initial report from the US National Transportation Safety Board concluded that four bolts meant to attach the door securely to the aircraft had not been fitted.

Boeing is reportedly facing a criminal investigation into the incident itself, as well as legal action from passengers aboard the plane.

[MinorityRepublican]

Boeing should have been broken up years ago to separate their government/defense manufacturing from commercial aircraft. It should have been a condition of the McDonnell Douglas merger.

We can demand it now. Antitrust.

[Rockingham]

All too true. In order to fend off Airbus, Boeing wanted to consolidate market control by merging with McDonnell-Douglas and becoming the sole big aircraft maker in the Americas. Details matter though, with the McDonnell-Douglas leading Boeing to turn from a focus on aviation engineering toward MBA style cost cutting and opaque accounting and political manipulations.

For years I have heard airline pilots and a pilot union negotiator I know complain about Boeing's decline in quality and how Airbus makes better aircraft. My casual impression as an occasional air traveler is the same. I recall one pilot saying that he would retire rather than have to pilot one of Boeing's carbon fiber hulled aircraft. He predicted that quality control issues would lead to windows and doors blowing out.

[cgbg]

Boeing is an example of failed corporate compensation incentive schemes.

For most corporations senior executives benefits by short term upward movements in stock prices.

If Boards of Directors insisted on rewarding for long term instead of short term performance they would see a lot less short-cuts by senior management.

[Rockingham]

That might help, but even without stock incentives, most managers promote by appearances, credentials, diversity, connections, and recent performance. Indeed, with frequent changes in jobs and duties, it is often hard to accurately and fairly assess long term job performance. And genuine merit and good performance by an employee can be threatening to superiors.

[cgbg]

Long term stock price is the measure of long term performance.

Let us say a new President of the company is hired in 2024.

As you say we have no idea whether they will last just six months or twenty years.

However, the long term compensation simply says that there will be deferred payments (details in employment contract) that will be based on the stock price in 2034.

Obviously those payments cannot be made until 2034.

That would motivate the President to think long term.

[Revel]

I agree that Boeing made some huge mistakes. In fact i would argue that the 737-max problem was should have put some people in prison. But that does not mean people should blame them for things that they have not been proven guilty off. In fact these latest things that are more likely to be the fault of other people such as maintenance people.

[ridesthemiles]

ONCE the plane leaves Boeing & is in the hands of the airline -—maintenance isn’t their problem.

I am FAR more suspicious of DEI person’s doing maintenance when they cannot pick strawberries

[Rockingham]

True enough, as to the importance of long term thinking. Yet that alone is not enough. GE looked good until Jack Welch retired and the shaky nature of the company's performance as a business was soon revealed.

In addition to long term thinking, a good strategy and the CEO's skills, character, and dedication to task matter, as do that of the other members of his team, and the quality of the board's supervision and support.

In addition, market conditions, consumer preferences, and regulatory environment have their effects, and the performance of Boeing's divisions depend on company culture and the quality of people deep in the ranks. The many elements and the costs and risks inherent in airline design and manufacturing make it a "sporty game."

[Red Badger]

AVIATION PING!................