Eighty days had passed. For the airline sector, however, enough was enough.
According to those familiar with the conversations, a revolt by American airline executives this week culminated in the removal of Boeing's senior executives, including CEO Dave Calhoun. This opened the possibility of a door plug being placed on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, completing weeks of pressure following the bizarre Jan. 5 blast.
Boeing's board responded to the company's biggest U.S. customers' demands for a boardroom meeting in which Calhoun was not invited by causing a huge upheaval.
Following the shakeup that resulted in the removal of Boeing's chairman, CEO, and head of its commercial aircraft division, airlines are again facing extended uncertainty regarding jet supply and are demanding further significant reforms, beginning with the appointment of a manufacturing titan to the position of CEO.
"It wouldn't surprise me that people said, 'What exactly is the Boeing strategy to change this, not put a Band-Aid on it,'” former Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu told Reuters.
"There’s a point at which you cannot pretend that everything is fine. And I think this has been the call to action that you probably heard from the airline community.”
Boeing said it had nothing further to say in response to Calhoun's remarks, which he made on Monday to employees, indicating that he had been thinking about resigning as CEO for some time. He went on, saying that the business would "fix what isn't working, and we are going to get our company back on the track towards recovery and stability."
According to the organisation, it's looking into a data set that was made available on the "dark web" around two weeks ago, and its initial investigation indicates that it has affected roughly
Fifteen years after the second of two catastrophic crashes that grounded the MAX, the events of January 5 thrust Boeing into a new dilemma.
Boeing's already-behind production was curtailed by regulators. There were fewer planes available for delivery, thus airlines struggled to modify their timetables to accommodate the continuous delays.
Boeing had a hard time persuading clients that it could withstand the intense scrutiny, especially after safety board investigations exposed flaws in the production process.
The catalyst came last week when, according to insiders, the CEOs of major MAX clients in the United States, including Southwest, United, Alaska, and American, wanted to meet with the board to voice their dissatisfaction over the lack of progress. Larry Kellner, chairman of Boeing, suggested scheduling one-on-one sessions in its place.
However, the board of Boeing preempted that move over the weekend by deciding to have Calhoun, Kellner, and CEO Stan Deal of Boeing leave their positions gradually. Deal's position was taken over by chief operating officer Stephanie Pope. According to a prominent industry insider, the reorganisation amounted to Boeing management being "fired by its customers."
Insiders pointed out that it was the most extensive top-level purge since the company's finance director was ousted in a 2003 defence contract controversy, prompting CEO Phil Condit to step down a few days later.
"The U.S. carriers were determined to force regime change," said a source familiar with the discussions.
Some reported that Calhoun, who insisted the relocation was his choice, leaped before being forced and consented to depart by the end of the year.
However, pressure from the sector and authorities had been building for several weeks, culminating in late January when additional loose bolts were discovered.
CEO of United Scott Kirby declared that the company would no longer wait for the delayed MAX 10, which was Boeing's best chance to compete with Airbus's hot-selling A321neo in the busiest segment of the market.
"The Max 9 grounding is probably the straw that broke the camel's back for us," Kirby said.
Kirby quickly took off for France to begin negotiations with Airbus, Boeing's competitor, in the hopes of securing a 200-plane agreement.
Ben Minicucci, the CEO of Alaska Airlines, who is said to have been quite proactive in applying pressure to Boeing, expressed his anger to NBC. Boeing is superior to this.
Usually, these kinds of discussions happen in secret.
After the MAX groundings that followed incidents in 2018 and 2019 resulted in litigation over delays, the industry's unity had broken.
However, the severity of this month's involvement stunned onlookers in boardrooms and exposed the fraying trust in Boeing's once-firm grasp on safety and dependability issues.
In the case of Boeing, "the dynamic between supplier and customer has gone beyond extremes anyone has seen," according to independent aviation expert Dick Forsberg, who was instrumental in founding Avolon, a significant aircraft leasing company located in Dublin.
Significant American airlines, with the exception of Delta, which openly refrained from the conflict, according to a second source with knowledge of the discussions, have decided to remove Boeing executives "off the stage."
Sources informed Reuters that the plot gained momentum at this month's Airlines for America gathering, validating a report by The Air Current on the coordinated airline action.
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the US National Transportation Safety Board, had a private discussion with the CEOs during the summit.
According to the sources, Kirby and the other CEOs decided it was time to request a meeting with the Boeing board after she left.
The big leasing corporations that control half of the world's fleet subtly entered the market while airline CEOs went public.
Lessors openly supported Calhoun during the yearly Dublin summit in January, but in private, delegates expressed disapproval and said it would take weeks for Calhoun to be removed.
One prominent exception was Michael O'Leary, the CEO of low-cost airline Ryanair, who attacked the Boeing division in Seattle, where the 737 is manufactured, and still supported Calhoun.
Crisis analysts note that Boeing publicly acknowledged its errors under Calhoun, eschewing the unpopular, legalistic stance company had taken following previous MAX crashes.
Nevertheless, he vowed time and time again that the present leadership would implement the "deep changes" that US authorities were requesting.
Experts predict that the carrier takeover will be researched for years after everything settles.
"The commercial aviation base rebelled. I can’t think of when that’s ever happened," said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Lester Crown Professor in management practice at Yale School of Management.
"It’s career-ending if all of your customers said they don’t have confidence in you, and wanted to go to your superiors," he said, adding such collective action was rare in any industry.
When it comes to post-pandemic disruption, Boeing is not alone. Due to missing parts, Airbus is delaying delivery, and insiders claim that the number of quality reports is higher than expected. Pratt & Whitney, an engine manufacturer, has experienced numerous well-publicized issues.
However, airlines claim that the low morale and significant employee turnover at Boeing plants during the epidemic have clouded the manufacturing and planning process, which will require years to recover from.
Airlines maintain that aircraft are safe despite the earlier MAX crashes resulting in more global oversight and modifications to the cockpit.
Airlines, however, assert that more work has to be done to reassure the public, given that some travellers are increasingly looking up plane models before purchasing tickets.
"What is needed here is indeed someone who has a strong engineering background, who has the patience, the interest, and the disposition to get into the details of what goes on on the manufacturing floor," Rovinescu said of the next Boeing CEO.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
According to those familiar with the conversations, a revolt by American airline executives this week culminated in the removal of Boeing's senior executives, including CEO Dave Calhoun. This opened the possibility of a door plug being placed on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, completing weeks of pressure following the bizarre Jan. 5 blast.
Boeing's board responded to the company's biggest U.S. customers' demands for a boardroom meeting in which Calhoun was not invited by causing a huge upheaval.
Following the shakeup that resulted in the removal of Boeing's chairman, CEO, and head of its commercial aircraft division, airlines are again facing extended uncertainty regarding jet supply and are demanding further significant reforms, beginning with the appointment of a manufacturing titan to the position of CEO.
"It wouldn't surprise me that people said, 'What exactly is the Boeing strategy to change this, not put a Band-Aid on it,'” former Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu told Reuters.
"There’s a point at which you cannot pretend that everything is fine. And I think this has been the call to action that you probably heard from the airline community.”
Boeing said it had nothing further to say in response to Calhoun's remarks, which he made on Monday to employees, indicating that he had been thinking about resigning as CEO for some time. He went on, saying that the business would "fix what isn't working, and we are going to get our company back on the track towards recovery and stability."
According to the organisation, it's looking into a data set that was made available on the "dark web" around two weeks ago, and its initial investigation indicates that it has affected roughly
Fifteen years after the second of two catastrophic crashes that grounded the MAX, the events of January 5 thrust Boeing into a new dilemma.
Boeing's already-behind production was curtailed by regulators. There were fewer planes available for delivery, thus airlines struggled to modify their timetables to accommodate the continuous delays.
Boeing had a hard time persuading clients that it could withstand the intense scrutiny, especially after safety board investigations exposed flaws in the production process.
The catalyst came last week when, according to insiders, the CEOs of major MAX clients in the United States, including Southwest, United, Alaska, and American, wanted to meet with the board to voice their dissatisfaction over the lack of progress. Larry Kellner, chairman of Boeing, suggested scheduling one-on-one sessions in its place.
However, the board of Boeing preempted that move over the weekend by deciding to have Calhoun, Kellner, and CEO Stan Deal of Boeing leave their positions gradually. Deal's position was taken over by chief operating officer Stephanie Pope. According to a prominent industry insider, the reorganisation amounted to Boeing management being "fired by its customers."
Insiders pointed out that it was the most extensive top-level purge since the company's finance director was ousted in a 2003 defence contract controversy, prompting CEO Phil Condit to step down a few days later.
"The U.S. carriers were determined to force regime change," said a source familiar with the discussions.
Some reported that Calhoun, who insisted the relocation was his choice, leaped before being forced and consented to depart by the end of the year.
However, pressure from the sector and authorities had been building for several weeks, culminating in late January when additional loose bolts were discovered.
CEO of United Scott Kirby declared that the company would no longer wait for the delayed MAX 10, which was Boeing's best chance to compete with Airbus's hot-selling A321neo in the busiest segment of the market.
"The Max 9 grounding is probably the straw that broke the camel's back for us," Kirby said.
Kirby quickly took off for France to begin negotiations with Airbus, Boeing's competitor, in the hopes of securing a 200-plane agreement.
Ben Minicucci, the CEO of Alaska Airlines, who is said to have been quite proactive in applying pressure to Boeing, expressed his anger to NBC. Boeing is superior to this.
Usually, these kinds of discussions happen in secret.
After the MAX groundings that followed incidents in 2018 and 2019 resulted in litigation over delays, the industry's unity had broken.
However, the severity of this month's involvement stunned onlookers in boardrooms and exposed the fraying trust in Boeing's once-firm grasp on safety and dependability issues.
In the case of Boeing, "the dynamic between supplier and customer has gone beyond extremes anyone has seen," according to independent aviation expert Dick Forsberg, who was instrumental in founding Avolon, a significant aircraft leasing company located in Dublin.
Significant American airlines, with the exception of Delta, which openly refrained from the conflict, according to a second source with knowledge of the discussions, have decided to remove Boeing executives "off the stage."
Sources informed Reuters that the plot gained momentum at this month's Airlines for America gathering, validating a report by The Air Current on the coordinated airline action.
Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the US National Transportation Safety Board, had a private discussion with the CEOs during the summit.
According to the sources, Kirby and the other CEOs decided it was time to request a meeting with the Boeing board after she left.
The big leasing corporations that control half of the world's fleet subtly entered the market while airline CEOs went public.
Lessors openly supported Calhoun during the yearly Dublin summit in January, but in private, delegates expressed disapproval and said it would take weeks for Calhoun to be removed.
One prominent exception was Michael O'Leary, the CEO of low-cost airline Ryanair, who attacked the Boeing division in Seattle, where the 737 is manufactured, and still supported Calhoun.
Crisis analysts note that Boeing publicly acknowledged its errors under Calhoun, eschewing the unpopular, legalistic stance company had taken following previous MAX crashes.
Nevertheless, he vowed time and time again that the present leadership would implement the "deep changes" that US authorities were requesting.
Experts predict that the carrier takeover will be researched for years after everything settles.
"The commercial aviation base rebelled. I can’t think of when that’s ever happened," said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Lester Crown Professor in management practice at Yale School of Management.
"It’s career-ending if all of your customers said they don’t have confidence in you, and wanted to go to your superiors," he said, adding such collective action was rare in any industry.
When it comes to post-pandemic disruption, Boeing is not alone. Due to missing parts, Airbus is delaying delivery, and insiders claim that the number of quality reports is higher than expected. Pratt & Whitney, an engine manufacturer, has experienced numerous well-publicized issues.
However, airlines claim that the low morale and significant employee turnover at Boeing plants during the epidemic have clouded the manufacturing and planning process, which will require years to recover from.
Airlines maintain that aircraft are safe despite the earlier MAX crashes resulting in more global oversight and modifications to the cockpit.
Airlines, however, assert that more work has to be done to reassure the public, given that some travellers are increasingly looking up plane models before purchasing tickets.
"What is needed here is indeed someone who has a strong engineering background, who has the patience, the interest, and the disposition to get into the details of what goes on on the manufacturing floor," Rovinescu said of the next Boeing CEO.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
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