An aerial photo shows Boeing 737 Max planes parked on the tarmac at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, on March 21, 2019.
Lindsey Wasson | Reuters
BoeingMax’s latest crisis is forcing some of its biggest customers to rethink their expansion plans this year — and possibly beyond, several airline CEOs said Tuesday.
Their comments underscore how Boeing’s top buyers have felt the effects of its problems: quality control issues snowball, production ramping up slowly and certification of new planes delayed for years.
Southwest Airlineswhich flies only Boeing 737s, trimmed its 2024 capacity forecast and said it was revising its financial guidance for 2024, citing fewer Boeing deliveries than previously expected this year: 46 Boeing 737 Max planes, down from 79.
“Boeing needs to become a better company and the deliveries will follow.” Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said at a JPMorgan conference call on Tuesday.
Alaska Airlines said Tuesday that its 2024 capacity estimates are “in flux due to uncertainty about the timing of aircraft deliveries as a result of increased Federal Aviation Administration and Justice Department scrutiny of Boeing and its operations ».
united airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby said at JPMorgan’s conference call on Tuesday that the carrier asked Boeing to stop building Max 10 planes for the airline, a plane that has not yet been certified by the FAA, and to produce more Max 9s, which they are already flying.
“It’s impossible to say when the Max 10 will be certified,” Kirby said. In January, Kirby said the airline would create a fleet plan without the Max 10 because of the delays.
On Friday, United told staff it would have to stop hiring pilots this spring because new Boeing planes are arriving late, CNBC reported.
Frustration from airline bosses has been building in recent months since Boeing’s latest crisis stemmed from a door panel blowing off a Max 9 plane during a Alaska Airlines flight in January. The accident has heightened scrutiny of Boeing, and a preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board said door panel bolts did not appear to be attached when the planes left the company’s factory in Washington state.
“We are fully focused on implementing quality-enhancing changes throughout our production system and taking the necessary time to deliver high-quality airplanes that meet all regulatory requirements,” Boeing said in an emailed statement. “We continue to remain in close contact with our valued customers regarding these issues and our actions to address them.”
The FAA suspended Boeing’s planned production increases and said a recent audit “identified noncompliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control.”
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun and other leaders have vowed to eliminate quality control problems and have taken several work breaks to discuss issues with workers.
On Tuesday, Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing’s commercial airplanes unit, told staff that the company would work with employees found to have non-compliant issues during the audit to make sure they “fully understand the guidelines and procedures work” and that they implement weekly compliance checks and schedule more checks this month.
In a memo to staff, Deal said workers must “accurately follow every step of our manufacturing processes and procedures” and “always be on the lookout for a potential safety hazard,” telling employees “you have full authority to report it through your manager or Speak Up Portalso we address it immediately rather than passing the risk on to the next person or position.”