It has been an eventful 4th of July holiday week for Boeing. Today’s key stories focus on Boeing’s ongoing quality issues and its forthcoming “sweetheart” agreement with the Department of Justice. With a new whistleblower indicating that what we’ve seen so far is the “tip of the iceberg” we can expect more negative information will be forthcoming. Yet another story bored into that iceberg, with whistleblower claims that Boeing used scrap parts on new aircraft.
One thing Boeing does well, according to Christine Negroni, is to bamboozle prosecutors into favorable agreements, and in her story she outlines a history of Boeing avoiding criminal sanctions. A story with indicating a potential conflict of interest emerged, with links to Boeing sparking a cal for the Deputy AG to recuse herself As we have asked, is Boeing too big to fail or jail? Another opinion piece summed up Boeing’s recent press conference and NTSB rebuke quite well.
In another story, a Wall Street analyst was predicting delivery of 34 MAX airplanes in June, but unfortunately, Boeing again fell short of analyst expectations. The reality, which we compile by tail number each month, was 27, of which 20 were newly built and 7 delivered from inventory that were built a little over 5 years ago. The ramp-up is slower than either Boeing or the street desire.
Speaking of Wall Street, Boeing will release its second quarter earnings on July 31st, and information to connect is in the story. Expectations are for another disastrous quarter from a cash flow perspective, and we will find out the answer at the end of the month.
While the 737 MAX is a problem for Boeing, it is also a problem for the supply chain, with an article citing 10 companies significantly impacted by Boeing’s problems. In another story, Barclays indicated that the Spirit Aero transaction represents fair value and that it is unlikely that another buyer will appear. Given the problems with that organization that Boeing will need to solve as it re-integrates the manufacture of fuselages in house, we concur that another buyer emerging is extremely unlikely.
Next up is, a bit of nostalgia. A travel company is re-creating a nostalgic one-time PanAm trip, but using a Boeing 757, a type PanAm never operated. Apparently they plan to even paint the aircraft with the final PanAm billboard livery. Whatever floats your boat!
Finally, the tone of stories has changed, particularly with reporting on the “stranded” Starliner. The headline in our last linked story indicates the uphill climb Boeing has to regain credibility and trust.
Links to today’s key stories follow:
- Boeing’s unquestioned success, a half century of bamboozling prosecutors – Christine Negroni
- Boeing links spark calls for deputy AG to step back – Newsweek
- Boeing whistleblower issues new warning: ‘Tip of the iceberg’ – Newsweek
- Whistleblower says Boeing used scrap parts on new planes – KCRG.com
- Opinion: Boeing safety charade prompts NTSB rebuke – AIN
- Boeing set for improved deliveries and production rates, Goldman Sachs Analyst Says – Benzinga
- Boeing to release second quarter results on July 31 – Boeing
- Boeing’s 737 MAX mess is also a mess for these 10 companies – and they’re not airlines – Quartz
- Boeing’s $4.7bn purchase of Spirit AeroSystems represents “fair value” : Barclays – Investing
- Pan Am to make short-lived return in 2025 as travel firm plans nostalgic flights – Aerotime Hub
- NASA praises Boeing’s stranded Starliner for managing not to explode while docked to space station – The Byte