Boeing HQ
After a busy week at Farnborough, Boeing news has slowed over the weekend to a few, but meaningful stories.
The summary for Farnborough is in, with last minute orders from Airbus bringing its total commitments to 164 versus 96 plus 22 options for Boeing. The business mix shifted considerably to wide-body aircraft, reflecting the sold out and delayed ramp-up with narrow-bodies that effectively mean 2031 for new orders from the duopoly as post-show expectations are for two more years of supply-chain difficulties and delays.
The supply-chain delays and difficulties reflect the impact of the global pandemic, in which substantial losses of experienced personnel cannot be quickly replaced. It takes 2-3 years for an employee to become fully productive, and the industry simply hasn’t been able to find and train the people required to further ramp-up production since the end of the pandemic. As a result, all industry participants are feeling supply-chain constraints.
The FAA has been probing incorrectly labeled titanium, with a focus on China, and Boeing has asked its suppliers for the paper trail for the last decade to check for forgeries. There have been incidents of substandard materials being used, which increase risks of metal fatigue.
With Boeing having pled guilty to a felony for criminal fraud, another can of worms has been opened. Civil suits now have the “proof” of fraudulent activity they need, and the first suit has already been filed in Delaware courts. Boeing’s legal department will continue to be busy in the aftermath of the MAX crashes and door blowout cases.
On the space front, the astronauts remain stranded on the International Space Station, and NASA is nearing a decision on whether to bring the astronauts back home on the Starlink capsule, or have them return on a SpaceX vehicle. Needless to say, the latter would be an embarrassing failure for Boeing.
Finally, Stephanie Pope was in focus at Farnborough as head of Boeing’s Commercial Aircraft division and the leading internal candidate to replace Dave Calhoun as company CEO. The executive search process is heating up, with Pope and Spirit CEO Pat Shanahan as candidates, along with an active external search by the headhunters and the Board. With Calhoun leaving by year end, the time to select and transition a successor is growing short.
Links to today’s key stories follow:
- Farnborough Air Show ends with slim orders tally as Airbus overtakes Boeing – The National
- It’s not just Boeing. Challenges mount for Airbus and the industry – Seattle Times
- Exclusive: Boeing asks suppliers for decade-long titanium paper trail as check for forgeries widens – Reuters
- Boeing sued in Delaware for docs on safety, quality failures – Law360
- NASA nears decision on what to do with Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft – ars technica
- Boeing’s Pope makes mark at aviation show as CEO search heats up – Bloomberg
Views: 0
