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More Boeing Bad News

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#741 Post by PHXPhlyer » Mon May 09, 2022 2:14 pm

Boeing is losing the plane race. So it packed up and left for Washington

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/09/business ... index.html

A Boeing 737 MAX airliner piloted by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Steve Dickson lands following an evaluation flight at Boeing Field the in Seattle, Washington, on September 30, 2020.

New York
CNN Business

Boeing is moving its headquarters from Chicago to a suburb of Washington, DC. But some analysts think this move is one in the wrong direction.

Boeing was based in Seattle from its founding in 1916 to 2001. During its heyday it was renowned as an engineering-driven company that made the best, safest planes. But many industry watchers felt that reputation was lost as Boeing shifted to focus on the bottom line — and they point to its 2001 decision to move headquarters from Seattle to Chicago as a stark sign of that ill-advised shift.

The company’s Thursday announcement that it will move once again, to Arlington, Virginia, only gives critics more fuel: By moving into the shadow of both the Pentagon and Congress, Boeing seems to be signaling it has lost the commercial race to Airbus and wants to be seen as primarily a defense and space contractor.

The fact that the announcement comes the same week Airbus (EADSF) revealed it’s increasing production of commercial jets at its factory in Mobile, Alabama, only seems to drive home that point.

“One company is saying ‘We’re going to build lots of jets.’ The other is saying ‘We’re going to lobby the Pentagon and Congress for defense dollars.’ It’s a big contrast,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory and a leading aerospace analyst.

Boeing said in a press release that the Arlington move is designed to bring the company closer to its “customers and stakeholders, and its access to world-class engineering and technical talent.”

‘The road not taken’
Aboulafia isn’t surprised Boeing decided to move its headquarters to Arlington, but he is disappointed. A move back to the Seattle area would have sent a strong signal that Boeing is was once again ready to embrace engineering, he added.

“It would have been great for morale and shown an intent to focus on their badly neglected commercial airline products,” said Aboulafia. “Imagine the power if they said ‘We’re going to back to our roots.’ It’s just disappointing. It’s the road not taken.”

Boeing’s engineering and quality problems have posed major challenges for the company. The crashes of two of 737 Max jets that killed all 346 people on board the flights led to a crippling 20-month grounding of the plane. It also was one of the most expensive corporate blunders in history, costing Boeing in excess of $20 billion. But it’s had problems, delays and financial charges for just about all of its other passenger jets too.

While the Max is now back in the air carrying passengers in most markets around the globe, that hasn’t solved perhaps its most serious problem: It’s has fallen well behind Airbus in commercial plane sales and deliveries, particularly among single-aisle jets.

Cozying up to the Pentagon and Congress could help Boeing in its defense and space businesses, but even in those fields it’s struggling to keep up with other defense contractors like Lockheed (LMT) and Raytheon (RTN), as well as upstart space companies such as SpaceX.

Plus, moving to suburban DC doesn’t get Boeing many benefits, said Ron Epstein, aerospace analyst for Bank of America. The company already has nearly 100 lobbyists and a lobbying budget of $13.4 million a year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets website, which tracks lobbying. That’s the fifth most of any individual company.

“I don’t think anyone would accuse Boeing of not having enough presence in DC,” said Epstein. “When I saw the announcement, it was a bit of a head-scratcher. You have to ask, what does that get them?”

It’s not just analysts and critics in the media who are questioning Boeing’s culture. Last week, Domhnal Slattery, the CEO of Avolon, one of the world’s leading aircraft leasing companies and a major Boeing customer, suggested the company needs a change in culture — and maybe leadership.

“I think it’s fair to say that Boeing has lost its way,” he said at the Airfinance Journal conference in Dublin on Thursday, in comments first reported by Reuters. “Boeing has a storied history…They build great airplanes. But it’s said that culture eats strategy for breakfast and that is what has happened at Boeing.”

A spokesman for Avolon confirmed the comments, although he cautioned that Slattery wasn’t speaking specifically about Boeing’s headquarters decision.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who chairs the House Transportation Committee, also blasted Boeing’s move.

“Moving their headquarters to Chicago and away from their roots in the Pacific Northwest was a tragic mistake that… empowered Wall Street bean-counters over the line engineers who built their once-great reputation,” he said in a statement. “Boeing’s problem isn’t a lack of access to government, but rather its ongoing production problems and the failures of management and the board that led to the fatal crashes of the 737 Max.”

“Boeing should focus on making safe airplanes — not lobbying federal regulators and Congress,” he concluded.

Some of the company’s problems — particularly the body blow it caused to airlines’ finances and demand for new planes — were beyond Boeing’s control. Even Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun admits most of the problems have been self-inflicted.

“I will be the first to admit that they were not events caused by the outside world, but unfortunately, missteps inside,” he told investors in a January conference call. Still, he insisted Boeing has taken steps to improve its attention to engineering.

Boeing delays its newest jet as losses soar
“Our culture is focused on getting as close to our work as we possibly can from the very top of the company through the engineering rank,” he said. “I think we’re getting much better. In fact, we’re getting really good at it.”

Beyond the Max and the pandemic, however, Boeing has other problems to solve. Quality control issues with its widebody 787 Dreamliner has forced delivery to be on hold for nearly a year. And certification problems for its newest widebody, the 777X, has pushed back its planned first delivery of the passenger version by two years, to at least 2025.

Meanwhile, Boeing’s attempts to fix all of its problems with the Max, the 777X and Dreamliner has taken time and attention away from its original plan to come up with a new long-range single-aisle jet to compete with the hot selling Airbus A321XLR.

“Pretty much every single one of their programs has taken a [financial] charge, and that’s across both commercial and defense,” said Epstein. “It’s a hard thing to do, to design and build aircraft. Nobody’s perfect. But Boeing seems to have more warts on their programs than all of their peers. It all goes back to engineering. Is moving to Arlington changing the engineering culture in a good way? It’s hard to see.”

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#742 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri May 13, 2022 7:46 pm

FAA finds Boeing 787 certification documents incomplete
Deliveries of the 787 have been halted for a year as Boeing addressed inspections and repairs in an industrial headache expected to cost $5.5 billion.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/busine ... -rcna28762

SEATTLE/WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) — U.S. air-safety regulators have told Boeing the documentation it submitted to win approval to resume 787 deliveries to airlines after a year is incomplete, two people familiar with the matter said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified a number of omissions in Boeing’s documentation, submitted in late April, and has sent portions of it back to the planemaker, one of the people said.

A second person said it was too early to say whether FAA concerns would lead to a new delay in resuming deliveries, which have been suspended for the past year due to production flaws.

Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun highlighted the submission in the company’s April 27 earnings call, calling it a “very important step” and saying it was preparing the first 787s for delivery, but stopped short of providing a date.

People briefed on the matter say the submission was made shortly before the call.

A Boeing spokesperson said the company continues to have a transparent dialogue and work closely with the FAA on the remaining steps.

An FAA spokesman declined to elaborate, saying only, “Safety drives the pace of our reviews.”

Clearing a swollen inventory of twin-aisled Dreamliners and its best-selling 737 MAX jets is vital to the U.S. planemaker’s ability to emerge from the overlapping pandemic and jet-safety crises, a task complicated by supply-chain bottlenecks and war in Ukraine.

Deliveries of the 787 have been halted for a year as Boeing worked through inspections and repairs in an industrial headache expected to cost about $5.5 billion. Boeing has more than 100 of the advanced composite twin-aisle jets parked in inventory, worth about $12.5 billion.

In February, the FAA said it would not allow Boeing to self-certify individual new Boeing 787 planes. Then-FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said the agency needed from Boeing “a systemic fix to their production processes. They’ve got to produce the quality on their production line that we’re looking for and that they’ve committed to.”

The FAA said in February it would retain the authority to issue airworthiness certificates until it is confident “Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing processes consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards.”

Reuters reported in late April that Boeing has advised key airlines and parts suppliers that deliveries would resume in the second half of this year, with one industry source saying deliveries could resume in a matter of weeks.

Boeing’s certification package is a sprawling set of documents and data that shows the jet’s compliance, though the FAA controls the final determination. The package lays out inspections and repairs Boeing will undertake on dozens of planes sidelined by production flaws. The documentation is a crucial step before Boeing can resume deliveries.

Boeing’s chief financial officer, Brian West, made upbeat comments on the 787’s progress at a Goldman Sachs conference this week.

“This certification plan submission was an important milestone, and it reflects a very thorough comprehensive set of documents that verifies that we are in conformance,” West said. “And there’s been an enormous amount of work into that, working side by side with the FAA along the way.”

Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787 in late May 2021 after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method. The regulatory agency had issued two airworthiness directives to address production issues for in-service airplanes and identified a new issue in July.

“I’ll remind you that we haven’t really seen anything new in a while,” West added. “So we’re working hard on making sure that that submission is thorough, and now the FAA has it, and we are standing by ready and willing to enter any discussion, answer any question and help them do their work as they move through their certain protocols.”

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#743 Post by PHXPhlyer » Mon May 16, 2022 6:20 pm

Boeing needs to get its ‘s*** together,’ Ryanair CEO says

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/16/business ... index.html

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The CEO of Ryanair let loose a scathing, obscenity-laden attack on Boeing management Monday, saying company executives need either an immediate “reboot, or a boot up the a**.”

“At the moment we think Boeing management is running around like headless chickens, not able to sell aircraft, and then even the aircraft they deliver, they’re not able to deliver them on time,” said Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, Europe’s largest discount carrier, which has ordered nearly 400 jets from Boeing since 2010.

O’Leary and Boeing had an unusually public dispute last fall about negotiations on a possible order for the next generation of the 737 Max, with Ireland-based Ryanair breaking off talks because of a pricing squabble.

The CEO’s unusually blunt comments Monday were focused on Boeing’s delayed deliveries of planes. O’Leary said Ryanair had to scale back its spring and summer schedules because planes it had expected the aircraft maker to deliver by the end of April probably won’t arrive until the end of June.

He was livid about the delays, especially because Ryanair is purchasing planes known as white tails, which Boeing had built for other airlines. The original purchaser of those planes canceled the order during a prolonged 20-month grounding of the 737 Max that followed two fatal crashes.

“I can understand why there may be various challenges manufacturing new aircraft, but aircraft that you built and made two years ago that all you had … to do was put petrol in them and f***ing fly them to Dublin, really I don’t understand why you’re taking two to three month delays on that,” he said on a conference call with investors about the airline’s financial results. “It is redolent of very poor management performance in Seattle.”

Boeing did not respond to a request for comment on O’Leary’s remarks.

Criticizing management
O’Leary said Boeing makes great planes, but it might be time to change management.

“Either the existing management needs to up its game, or they need to change the existing management, would be our view of life,” he said. “We’re very happy to work with existing management but they need to bloody well improve on what they’ve been doing delivering to us over the last 12 months. … We’re a willing customer, but we’re struggling with slow deliveries and an inability to do a deal on new aircraft despite the number of white tails they have sitting on the f***ing ground in Seattle.”

Boeing has faced numerous problems in recent years, including the 737 Max crisis that cost it more than $20 billion. The company also was hit with an FAA-ordered halt of deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner last June due to quality control problems. And it faced delays winning approval for its next-generation widebody jet, the 777X, that forced Boeing to push back the first deliveries of the plane by two years to at least 2025.

Boeing also took substantial losses in its military and space businesses, including a recent $660 million charge on the two planes it is completing that will be used as the new Air Force Ones. It’s also combating delays in building a spacecraft to carry US astronauts to the International Space Station.

“If they get their s*** together, we’d be willing to take more aircraft for summer ’23 and summer ‘24,” O’Leary said. “There’s growth there to be won.”

He also said the airline is willing to restart negotiations on an order for the new generation of the 737 Max, although he pointed out that has yet to win FAA approval, making it risky to depend upon. So Ryanair is also looking at possibly purchasing 50 jets on the second hand market instead. And he had choice words for Boeing’s sales staff.

“You wonder what the hell their sales team has done in the last two years,” O’Leary said. “Frankly most of them seem to sitting at home in their f***ing jimjams working from home instead of being out there selling planes to customers.”

O’Leary also criticized Boeing’s recently announced plan to move its corporate headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington.

“Moving the headquarters to Virginia from Chicago, while it may be good for the defense side of the business, doesn’t fix the fundamental underlying problems on the civilian aircraft side in Seattle,” he said.

Other customer criticism
In addition to O’Leary, several other airlines have complained on recent conference calls — although in far less colorful language — about the problems they face from the 787 or 777X delays.

Domhnal Slattery, the CEO of Avolon, one of the world’s leading aircraft leasing companies, suggested earlier this month that Boeing needs a change in culture — and maybe leadership.

“I think it’s fair to say that Boeing has lost its way,” Slattery said at the Airfinance Journal conference, in comments first reported by Reuters and confirmed by Avolon. “Boeing has a storied history … They build great airplanes. But it’s said that culture eats strategy for breakfast and that is what has happened at Boeing.”

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#744 Post by PHXPhlyer » Thu Jun 09, 2022 4:56 pm

Trump’s Air Force One plan has a paint problem (among many other issues)

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/09/business ... index.html

New York
CNN Business

The two new Air Force One jets currently being built by Boeing are facing costly delays. Now there is a new potential problem to contend with: the paint job that former President Donald Trump ordered.

Trump had criticized the jet’s current color scheme, which has changed little since the Kennedy Administration, particularly the light blue stripe that runs the length of the plane. Trump instead wanted a red, white and dark blue palette that more closely matches the colors of the US flag.

But it turns out the darker blue — which some observers say is similar to the color scheme on one of Trump’s personal jets — poses challenges to the military planes’ sophisticated electronics system that ensures the president can stay in secure communication with officials on the ground — even in the case of a nuclear attack.

“The paint scheme in question was one of many possible livery colors proposed,” an Air Force spokesperson told CNN Thursday. “Further analysis concluded darker colors, among other factors, on the underside of the VC-25B aircraft might contribute to temperatures exceeding the current qualification limits of a small number of components.”

Painting is typically among the final stages of completion before a plane is delivered, so it’s unlikely the new jets will need to be repainted. The Air Force did not disclose when there will be a decision on the colors to be used, or what options are under consideration.

The Air Force also didn’t say how the problem was discovered. The General Accountability Office said in a report issued Wednesday that the planes undergo a comprehensive series of tests as part of the multi-year process of upgrading two standard 747s for use by the president and other national security officials.

Trump's new design for Air Force One looks familiar
The new Air Force Ones — which are designated VC-25B unless the president is on board — are already long overdue and over budget, causing Boeing (BA) to take a $660 million charge in its most recent quarterly financial report. That’s on top of a $318 million charge the company took in 2021 attributed to the two 747s being modified in Texas.

Boeing had previously disclosed it was having trouble finding enough workers with sufficient security clearance to work on the high-tech military planes, especially when Covid cases caused staffing shortages.

Boeing 'probably shouldn't have taken' Trump-negotiated Air Force One deal, CEO says
The airline builder also had a dispute with a subcontractor that was working on the interior of the new jets. That contractor was replaced, further setting back progress. On a call with analysts in April, Boeing CEO David Calhoun said the $3.9 billion contract that Boeing signed to build the planes was a mistake for the company, given the losses it is now incurring. He said the 2018 deal with the Air Force included “a very unique set of risks that Boeing probably shouldn’t have taken.”

The added delays could push back deliveries of the new jets to 2026, according to Boeing and Wednesday’s GAO report. That’s beyond the planned retirement date of the two 1990 Boeing-built jets now in use as Air Force One, which had been set to be replaced by 2025.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#745 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Fri Jun 10, 2022 12:36 am

The temperature issue, due to the paint colour is reminiscent of the issue that occurred with the great Pepsi Concorde jet advertisement!

ConcordePepsi.JPG
The aesthetics of the Pepsi livery are, as with all art, open to interpretation. However, what is inarguable is the impact that it had on Concorde's performance. During the supersonic flight that set the aircraft apart from contemporary subsonic airliners, it was subjected to extremely high temperatures. In order to deflect some of this heat, Concorde's hull was painted with highly reflective white paint. This prevented overheating and damage to the aircraft's aluminum structure.

However, in the blue Pepsi livery, Concorde no longer had such protection. As such, the aircraft in question could only fly at Mach 2.0 (2,470 km/h or 1,535 mph) for 20 minutes at a time. Otherwise, issues related to overheating could have arisen. Supersonic flight at speeds of Mach 1.7 (2,100 km/h or 1,300 mph) or below was unrestricted. Due to these restrictions, Air France selected an aircraft that was not scheduled for any flights with extended periods at Mach 2.0 during the promotional period.
https://simpleflying.com/pepsi-concorde-livery/

I would guess that the blue hue chosen is resulting in a higher skin temperature on the skin of the Boeing within the darker painted areas resulting in issues with electronic sensors and even, possibly, data loss in the case of microwave links etc.
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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#746 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri Jun 10, 2022 3:20 pm

Biden scraps Trump’s Air Force One paint scheme
The Air Force determined the darker color scheme would create engine heat issues for the presidential aircraft, a U.S. official said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politi ... -rcna32969

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will scrap a paint scheme for Air Force One proposed by former President Donald Trump that would have changed the iconic blue and gold design after the Air Force determined the darker color scheme would create engine heat issues for the presidential aircraft, a U.S. official said on Friday.

The Air Force did not immediately comment.

The exterior color scheme on the presidential aircraft, known as Air Force One when the president is on board, is white with two shades of blue and dates back to President John F. Kennedy’s administration.

Trump, who left office in January 2021, wanted to change the color scheme to red, white and blue.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#747 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri Jun 10, 2022 4:06 pm

Two Air Force Ones, one big mess for Boeing

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/09/business ... index.html

Did you know there are actually two Air Force Ones? (Should that be Airs Force One?) It’s true — POTUS gets two planes, and technically Air Force One is designated as whichever jet the president is flying on.

More fun facts: Boeing was due to deliver two new presidential 747s soon, but they are wildly over budget and behind schedule.

Among other problems, Boeing has had trouble finding enough workers with sufficient security clearance to work on the high-tech military planes, especially when Covid cases caused staffing shortages, my colleague Chris Isidore writes. (Note: Everything I know about Air Force One is sourced to either Chris or Harrison Ford.)
Boeing also had a dispute with a subcontractor that was working on the jets’ interior. That contractor was replaced, further setting back progress.
It’s so bad, Boeing’s CEO says even agreeing to build the planes in the first place was a mistake. He told analysts in April that the $3.9 billion deal it inked with the Air Force in 2018 included “a very unique set of risks that Boeing probably shouldn’t have taken.”
The current Air Force One jets were built in 1990, and they were supposed to be replaced by 2025. Now, Boeing says it may not happen till 2026.

On top of all of that, there’s a new headache: The paint job that former President Donald Trump ordered is a major liability.
Trump didn’t love the AFO color scheme, with its light blue stripe that’s been there since the Kennedy administration. He wanted a supposedly more patriotic look, with a red, white and blue palette. In case the state-of-art tech and armada of nuclear-attack-resistant support planes didn’t do enough to scream “THIS IS AMERICA.”

On top of all of that, there’s a new headache: The paint job that former President Donald Trump ordered is a major liability.
Trump didn’t love the AFO color scheme, with its light blue stripe that’s been there since the Kennedy administration. He wanted a supposedly more patriotic look, with a red, white and blue palette. In case the state-of-art tech and armada of nuclear-attack-resistant support planes didn’t do enough to scream “THIS IS AMERICA.”

Trump didn’t love the AFO color scheme, with its light blue stripe that’s been there since the Kennedy administration. He wanted a supposedly more patriotic look, with a red, white and blue palette. In case the state-of-art tech and armada of nuclear-attack-resistant support planes didn’t do enough to scream “THIS IS AMERICA.”

But it turns out the darker blue Trump requested could potentially overheat the sophisticated electronics system that ensures POTUS can stay in secure communication with officials on the ground.

The Air Force did not say what the new color scheme would be. And there was no word yet from Trump about how quickly he’d order the military to revert to his design if he’s re-elected…

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#748 Post by llondel » Fri Jun 10, 2022 10:44 pm

Any time the President is overseas in one of them, the other is always fairly close in case the primary one goes tech. There was a documentary on GWB when he did a surprise trip to the Middle East for Thanksgiving. In some ways it was dangerous because they identified as a Gulfstream Jet to ATC over Europe in the dark, and were prepared to cancel the trip had someone spotted them. They also featured the second aircraft, which put down at a different airport largely unannounced in advance, as the back-up.

If you're ATC and an unscheduled 747 decides to come land at your airport and goes to park off to the side somewhere, what do you do?

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#749 Post by PHXPhlyer » Fri Jun 10, 2022 11:01 pm

Even routine scheduled Presidential arrivals entail a lot of personnel and equipment.
In addition to ATC creating a large arrival slot for AF1 by slowing/vectoring airliners (GA aircraft are banned by Notam) a parking area is secured with plenty of space for motorcade vehicles.
For Obama's visit here the whole area between AF1 and the airport roadway was blocked off by a ring of semi trailers.
Elsewhere on the airport, parking is secured for at least one C-17 which hauls "The Beast" (Presidential armored limo) and an ambulance. Sometimes a C-130 as well.
Fortunately, in all of my T/Os or arrivals when AF1 has been around have been non-events due to coordination between SS, AF1, and ATC. :YMAPPLAUSE:
It wasn't like Clinton's 2 hour haircut at LAX. ~X(

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#750 Post by llondel » Fri Jun 10, 2022 11:38 pm

I'm assuming that for the Iraq trip I mentioned there was very little notice of the arrival of AF1 or the spare. That was certainly the impression given in the documentary. I assume certain senior people on the base knew about it because they would have needed to get their end organised and secured.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#751 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:31 pm

Delivery of new Air Force One planes delayed again

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/19/politics ... index.html

Boeing’s delivery of two new Air Force One planes has been delayed again, the Air Force announced Tuesday, with the completion of the first of the new presidential planes not expected for at least another four years.

“The new objective delivery date to the Presidential Airlift Group for the first aircraft is September 2026 and the second aircraft is February 2027, a 24-month delay from the original contractual dates; and the new threshold dates are September 2027 for the first aircraft and February 2028 for the second, a 36-month delay,” the Air Force said in a statement.

Boeing struck the deal to make the two new planes in 2018 with then-President Donald Trump. At the time, Trump asked for the planes to be ready by 2021, but the project has faced a series of delays.

The military said in its statement Tuesday that the delayed delivery was due to a number of factors, including “impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic, interiors supplier transition, manpower limitations, wiring design timelines, and projected test execution rates.”

The Air Force also said that until the new planes are delivered, it “remains postured to keep” the current two presidential planes “available and mission-ready.”

After running into a host of issues while building the planes, the deal proved to be a regrettable one for the airline builder, with Boeing CEO David Calhoun saying earlier this year that the $3.9 billion contract that Boeing signed to build the planes was a mistake for the company, given the losses it is now incurring. He said the 2018 deal with the Air Force included “a very unique set of risks that Boeing probably shouldn’t have taken.”

The former President, with his deal-making persona, took an unusually hands-on approach to the Air Force One deal. He personally met with Boeing big-wigs at the White House to seal the deal. He also shared drawings for a new red, white and blue color scheme for the jets.

The Biden administration, however, said last month that Trump’s proposed paint scheme was no longer under consideration due to cost and engineering concerns.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#752 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Jul 26, 2022 2:33 am

Boeing defense workers set to go on strike

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/25/business ... index.html

Workers at Boeing’s defense plants in the St. Louis area are threatening to go on strike next week after union members rejected the company’s final contract offer.

There are 2,500 members of the International Association of Machinists set to go on strike at 12:01 am central time on August 1. The plants are in St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri, and Mascoutah, Illinois.

“Our members have spoken loudly and with one voice,” said a statement from the union. “This company continues to make billions of dollars each year off the backs of our hardworking members. Boeing previously took away a pension from our members, and now the company is unwilling to adequately compensate our members’ 401(k) plan. We will not allow this company to put our members’ hard-earned retirements in jeopardy.”

Boeing issued a statement saying it was “disappointed” with the vote to reject what it called a “strong, highly competitive offer.” The company said the offer matched dollar-for-dollar up to 10% of worker’s base and incentive pay towards 401(k) contributions. Boeing also offered to make a special contribution of 2% of workers’ pay in 2023 and 2024, and to provide matches on student loan payments for workers’ children.

“We are activating our contingency plan to support continuity of operations in the event of a strike,” said the company’s statement.

The proposed three-year agreement would have raised average wages by 7.2% in the first year of the contract in addition to giving workers a $1,000 cash bonus, according to a web site about the offer from the company. Workers would have received a 4% increase in the second year and a 3% raise in the third year, according to Boeing.

Boeing has posted deep losses each of the last three years, with net losses totaling $18.1 billion since the start of 2019. But those losses were primarily related to its commercial aircraft business, which has been buffeted by the 20-month grounding of the 737 Max that started in March of 2019 following two fatal crashes, as well as a sharp drop in demand for air travel caused by the pandemic.

The company’s defense, space and security business unit posted a $1.5 billion profit each of the last two years. But Boeing reported a loss of $929 million in its defense business in the first quarter this year after a number of special charges, including a $660 million charge related to its refurbishment of two 747 jets to be used as the new Air Force Ones.

A strike vote, and even a strike deadline, does not necessarily mean that there will be a work stoppage. But the number of walk outs has been on the rise in the last year, with workers taking a more hardline stance at the bargaining table in the face of high inflation, which is wiping out wage gains being offered by employers.

A truck hauls a piece of John Deere equipment from the factory past workers picketing outside of the John Deere Davenport Works facility on October 15, 2021 in Davenport, Iowa.
Labor flexes its muscle as leverage tips from employers to workers
According to data from Cornell University, through the first five months of this year there were 153 US strikes involving about 73,500 workers, up from 78 strikes involving about 22,500 workers in the same period last year.

Rank-and-file workers at several companies have gone on strike even after their union leadership reached tentative offers with employers.

That was not the case in this vote: members voted on and rejected the company’s best and final offer. Union leadership had recommended a no vote by membership, according to machinist spokesman DeLane Adams. The union did not give the exact vote total, but strike authorizations typically pass overwhelmingly.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#753 Post by PHXPhlyer » Sat Jul 30, 2022 5:42 pm

US approves Boeing inspection, rework plan to resume 787 deliveries

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/30/business ... index.html

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Friday approved Boeing’s inspection and modification plan to resume deliveries of 787 Dreamliners, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters.


This counts as good news for Boeing
The FAA approved Boeing (BA)’s proposal that requires specific inspections to verify the condition of the airplane meets requirements and that all work has been completed, a move that should allow Boeing (BA) to resume deliveries in August after it halted them in May 2021, the sources said.

On July 17, Boeing told reporters it was “very close” to restarting 787 deliveries.

The FAA referred questions about the approval to Boeing. “We don’t comment on ongoing certifications,” the agency said.

Boeing did not confirm the approval Friday but said it “will continue to work transparently with the FAA and our customers towards resuming 787 deliveries.”

Boeing has faced production issues with the 787 for more than two years. In September 2020, the FAA said it was “investigating manufacturing flaws” in some 787 jetliners.

In the aftermath of two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, the FAA pledged to more closely scrutinize Boeing and delegate fewer responsibilities to Boeing for aircraft certification.


Boeing suspended deliveries of the 787 after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method. The FAA had previously issued two airworthiness directives to address production issues for in-service airplanes and identified a new issue in July 2021.

Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West said this week on an investor call that it had 120 of the 787s in inventory and was “making progress completing the necessary rework to prepare them for delivery.” Boeing is “producing at very low rates and we’ll continue to do so until deliveries resume, gradually returning to 5 airplanes per month over time.”

The planemaker had only resumed deliveries in March 2021 after a five-month hiatus before halting them again. Friday’s approval came after lengthy discussions with the FAA.

The regulator had said it wanted Boeing to ensure it “has a robust plan for the re-work that it must perform on a large volume of new 787s in storage” and that “Boeing’s delivery processes are stable.”

The FAA said in February it would retain the authority to issue airworthiness certificates until it is confident “Boeing’s quality control and manufacturing processes consistently produce 787s that meet FAA design standards.”

The agency’s then-administrator, Steve Dickson, told Reuters in February the FAA needed from Boeing “a systemic fix to their production processes.”

Boeing delays its newest jet as losses soar
A plane built for American Airlines (AAL) is likely to be the first 787 airplane delivered by Boeing since May 2021, sources said. That could come as soon as next month. American Airlines (AAL) said last week on an earnings call it expects to receive nine 787s this year, including two in early August.

Boeing in January disclosed a $3.5 billion charge due to 787 delivery delays and customer concessions, and another $1 billion in abnormal production costs stemming from production flaws and related repairs and inspections.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#754 Post by Woody » Sun Jul 31, 2022 6:16 am

$4.5 billion, I remember when that was a lot of money B-)
When all else fails, read the instructions.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#755 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:16 pm

Boeing prepares to swap engines from MAX inventory to new production

By Scott Hamilton

Aug. 15, 2022, © Leeham News: Boeing CEO David Calhoun says the company won’t build 737 gliders. That’s what airplanes are called as they exit final assembly without engines. The mitigation ironically comes from a circumstance that bedeviled Boeing since March 2019.

Planning is underway to take engines from the large inventory of stored 737 MAX aircraft to install on new production airplanes, LNA confirmed.

Boeing is producing 20-30 ship sets of counterweights, LNA is told. The counterweights are yellow blocks hung from the pylons to which engines are attached. The weights are needed to prevent the airplanes from sitting on their tails without the heavy engines installed. The counterweights will be installed on the stored airplanes when the CFM LEAP-1B engines are removed to install on new production aircraft as they roll off the final assembly line in Renton (WA).

In 2018, some MAXes rolled off the final assembly line without engines when CFM deliveries couldn’t match the production rate then.

Airbus has upward of 30 A320 gliders because CFM and Pratt & Whitney can’t deliver engines on time due to supply chain issues. Boeing, struggling to return to the 2019 737 production rate of 52/mo following the 21-month grounding of the MAX and a slow recovery from the COVID pandemic, hasn’t produced gliders yet. CFM is the exclusive engine supplier for the MAX.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#756 Post by Woody » Sat Aug 20, 2022 9:05 am

When all else fails, read the instructions.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#757 Post by PHXPhlyer » Thu Sep 22, 2022 11:05 pm

Boeing agrees to pay $200 million for misleading the public about the 737 Max

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/22/business ... index.html


Boeing and its former CEO Dennis Muilenburg agreed to pay hefty fines to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that they misled the public about the safety of the 737 Max following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.

The SEC alleges that, following an October 2018 crash of a Lion Air 737 Max jet that killed 189 people, Boeing and Muilenburg knew that part of the plane’s flight control system posed an ongoing safety concern yet told the public that the 737 Max was safe to fly. After a March 10, 2019 fatal 737 Max crash, the SEC alleges that Boeing and Muilenburg knowingly misled the public about “slips” and “gaps” in the certification process of that flight control system.

“In times of crisis and tragedy, it is especially important that public companies and executives provide full, fair, and truthful disclosures to the markets,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler in a statement. “The Boeing Company and its former CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, failed in this most basic obligation. They misled investors by providing assurances about the safety of the 737 MAX, despite knowing about serious safety concerns.”

In a statement, Boeing said that the settlement “fully resolves the SEC’s previously disclosed inquiry into matters relating to the 737 MAX accidents.”

“Today’s settlement is part of the company’s broader effort to responsibly resolve outstanding legal matters related to the 737 MAX accidents in a manner that serves the best interests of our shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders,” Boeing said.

The company and Muilenburg agreed to settle charges of violating the antifraud provisions of US securities laws, but they did not admit or deny the SEC’s allegations. Boeing agreed to pay a $200 million settlement, and Muilenburg agreed to pay $1 million.

“Boeing and Muilenburg put profits over people by misleading investors about the safety of the 737 Max all in an effort to rehabilitate Boeing’s image following two tragic accidents that resulted in the loss of 346 lives and incalculable grief to so many families,” said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division in a statement.

The fines, though large, pale in comparison to the financial hit Boeing has taken over the years because of the 737 Max. Boeing’s stated losses have reached tens of billions of dollars, and that doesn’t count the company’s ongoing legal exposure.

Shares of Boeing (BA) fell more than 3% Thursday but rose slightly in afterhours trading following the SEC’s announcement.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#758 Post by TheGreenAnger » Fri Sep 23, 2022 12:44 am

If its Boeing I ain't going?

Watched the Netflix documentary 'Downfall' last weekend!
My necessaries are embark'd: farewell. Adieu! I have too grieved a heart to take a tedious leave.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#759 Post by Fox3WheresMyBanana » Fri Sep 23, 2022 2:13 am

Boeing and Muilenburg knew that part of the plane’s flight control system posed an ongoing safety concern yet told the public that the 737 Max was safe to fly.
Sod the markets, or the fine. This is manslaughter in my book. I shall not be getting on one of their aircraft again.

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Re: More Boeing Bad News

#760 Post by ExSp33db1rd » Sat Sep 24, 2022 11:33 pm

If its Boeing I ain't going?
If it ain't Boein' I aint goin' Still have my flight briefcase with the large red sticker "Boeing my way ? "

Prefer them to the Scairbus.

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