Always Boeing. The negative headlines surrounding the US aircraft manufacturer do not stop. It has now been announced that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating Boeing. A whistleblower has come forward and made allegations. Boeing saves on safety. Parts on the 787 Dreamliner were installed in such a way that they could break apart due to wear and tear. SRF aviation expert Michael Weinmann explains the background.
Is the escalation in the Boeing case a surprise?
Given everything that has happened in recent years, it was actually a matter of time that whistleblowers would also turn to the authorities. Boeing is a huge company with over 170,000 employees. There are many of them who, for example, have already expressed their concerns internally – as in other companies. When such highly publicized and security-relevant incidents happen, it is completely understandable that these people would now come forward.
How should the whistleblower’s accusation be classified?
This is about problems with the construction of the Dreamliner, the 787. This is a long-haul aircraft. This is not the 737 Max that had the door ripped off incident. But the fact that there are proven problems in Boeing’s safety culture and processes suggests that the whistleblower’s statements are not far-fetched.
Why is there so much going wrong at Boeing at the moment?
It is a cultural problem, as the FAA’s preliminary investigation has shown. There are employees who don’t seem to have the courage to report errors. In a security-relevant area, this is devastating. This is likely a problem across the group. And the other is the satisfaction of shareholders through the dividend, which has been very important in recent years. Due to cost pressure, for example, many production processes were outsourced to external companies, which has now demonstrably led to problems.
How far is Boeing lagging behind its competitor Airbus?
The quarterly figures from both companies show that Airbus delivered around twice as many aircraft as Boeing in the first three months of the year. So a lot more sales are generated there. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Boeing is generally selling fewer aircraft. Because the order books are still full, the planes will now simply be delivered later. In the long term, however, this can have major effects. And yet: in the end, money also rules for the airlines. If Boeing makes an attractive offer for its aircraft, the airlines can abstract this.
How big are the problems at Boeing overall?
You are tall. It is the biggest crisis in the company’s history, at least in the production of commercial aircraft. This shapes the company. The person responsible for this division resigned immediately in March. The CEO and the Chairman of the Board of Directors have announced their resignation at the end of the year. So there is a change in leadership. Now a new boss has to come and turn the company around and modernize it again. This won’t be an easy task. The crisis is big, the challenge is enormous. This is unlikely to change in the next few weeks and months. Solving this problem will probably take years.