Boeing confident in its safety and quality recovery plan

Boeing displayed confidence in its safety and quality plan at a press conference in London ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow 2024. Company management said its plan to “stabilise” its factories and “deliver safe and quality airplanes on schedule” was majority developed by its own employees. “We collected more than 30,000 items of feedback, and those items are what generated the data,” said Boeing’s chief operating officer and CEO of its commercial arm Stephanie Pope. Ted Colbert III, president and CEO of its defence, space & security arm and Chris Raymond, president and CEO of its global services business also appeared at the event. Pope added Boeing has listened to its customers and have seen the plan “in detail”. Pope added: “They’re very supportive. They recognise this isn’t a minor change; it’s an exceptional change. We slowed down our factories pretty significantly to execute that change.” The company said it is already seeing results with “significant improvements” within its 737 factory. “Actions speak louder than words,” added Pope, “I believe in this plan because it was underwritten by our employees.” Pope stressed the importance of Boeing engineers and staff in this restructuring of its safety culture and quality control. “[We’re] making sure every employee is empowered to seek help or if they see a better of doing things, we’re making sure they’re heard, they’re valued, they’re respected, and they see action being taken.” The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had previously condemned Boeing’s safety culture in a damning report following its investigation into the company in the wake of the Flight 1282 incident. The plan will be a “continuous improvement” through a systematic set of actions that will ramp up momentum within the company. The management team said it would recover its factories and eventually bring output rates back up. Management dodged questions regarding Boeing’s new leader, as its current CEO Dave Calhoun is set to leave later in the year. Pope emphasised her focus on the present situation. When asked whether her financial experience would make her suitable candidate, she said she would adapt to whatever the present moment called for. Some leaders in the aviation industry have called for Boeing’s board to select a leader with a background in engineering. With Boeing’s recent reacquisition of its fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems, speculation has emerged over its CEO Patrick Shanahan – an engineer by training – is a frontrunner for the position. Boeing spokespeople at the event declined to comment on leadership questions.