A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft is assembled at the company’s factory in Renton, Washington, United States on June 25, 2024.
Jennifer Buchanan | Via Reuters
LONDON – Boeing aircraftBoeing’s 737 Max production is showing signs of improvement, the new head of the trade unit said ahead of a major air show on Sunday, while acknowledging that the manufacturer had “disappointed” customers with the delayed planes.
Boeing is trying Overcame several safety and production crisesincluding a mid-air door flap explosion in January, which slowed deliveries to airlines and prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to step up oversight of the venerable manufacturer.
Stephanie Pope, in her first press conference since taking the top job at the troubled planemaker in March, reiterated that Boeing had committed to increasing Max production to 38 a month. Analysts said production had fallen to the mid-20s a month in the first half of the year.
Pope said Boeing is on track to improve manufacturing quality, safety and predictability of deliveries, a “transformational change” that she said will take years.
“That doesn’t take away the fact that we let our customers down,” she said at a press conference ahead of the Farnborough Airshow, outside London. “We impacted their business and we failed to deliver on our commitments and to be the partner that they expected and needed us to be.”
Boeing has announced a series of goals aimed at getting the company back on track, including improving worker training and manufacturing processes, among other things. In the spring, the company submitted a plan of improvement to the FAA, which the agency ordered after the January crash.
“This is not a three-month plan,” Pope said. “I call it transformational because some of these actions will take years.”
As part of a leadership shakeup that puts Pope at the head of the commercial unit, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said he will step down at the end of the year.
Asked if she was interested in the role, Pope said she was focused on revitalizing the commercial division.
“That is my priority,” she said.
Boeing’s problems aren’t limited to commercial programs, however. Its defense division is also grappling with delays, including loss of money and delay in revision of the two Boeing 747s that will serve as the next two Air Force Ones.
That unit’s CEO, Ted Colbert, said Boeing is still “working through some real challenges stemming from supply chain challenges.”
Boeing will report quarterly results on July 31 and is expected to report charges from that unit, Colbert said at the same press conference.
