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Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

reuters.com

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Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#501

Post by FabHK »

jolmg wrote: post #271
lokedhs wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One option is to not fly american airlines (with a lower case a). The highest rated US airline is 3 out of 5 stars on Skytrax. As far as I understand, the reason for this is that foreign airlines are not allowed to fly US domestic routes, and most US people don't fly international which means they don't know that things could be better. It also seems like people in the US to a greater extent than other countries only…

> most people in the US only cares about ticket price, which means that even if an airline wants to improve their quality they can't use it to compete With regards to quality, do airlines in other places generally provide more bang for the buck or are they just generally more expensive than US flights to provide for the higher quality?

The Economist had an article in 2017 that argued that US airlines are worse, more expensive, and more profitable due to less competition than European (and I'd add Asian) airlines.

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2017/04/22/a-lack-of-compe...

Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#502

Post by WalterBright »

jefe_ wrote: post #114

Boeing was still promising end of year FAA certification for 737 Max as recently as early December. Around that time, they had a spokesperson on CNBC who was asked directly how the outstanding steps (which indicated February at the earliest) aligned with their end of year statements and the position was essentially, 'we've been saying end of year and end of year could still happen.' When your brand is suffering a cri…

> how do you allow Starliner mission to occur without 100% confidence in ability of mission to be executed flawlessly?

What space program with new hardware has ever executed 100% flawlessly?

Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#503

Post by afjl »

rland wrote: post #374
panarky wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The NYT story in particular was hard-hitting and well sourced. Gotta wonder if these stories influenced the board to act now. It's a bad look, because Boeing is consistently way too late to recognize what is obvious to those of us watching from home. I continue to be astounded that our most senior leaders will not act in the long-term best interest of the organizations they lead. It's been 37 years since the Tylenol…

There are many counter-examples though. BP, Volkswagen, Wells Fargo, Equifax, etc. All doing just fine.

> All doing just fine.

I think it may be too early to claim this. I think we can only judge these companies' well-being (especially with respect to their recent controversies) on a medium- to long-term scale.

I've banked at Wells Fargo since 2013, and I intend to close my 2 WF accounts and open up new ones at Chase soon. If I could remove my information from Equifax or another credit bureau, I would. By all standards, these companies are "doing just fine" at present. But what about 5 years from now, 15 years from now? The damage to a companies' reputation and the impact it has on consumer decision-making can be slow-moving and hard to notice/quantify.

Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#504

Post by WalterBright »

jonplackett wrote: post #236
cattlemansgold wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Starliner mission was a test. You wouldn't have 100% confidence that a test would be executed flawlessly. The purpose of the test is to find flaws in the system, and that's exactly what they did.

Reminds me of the news coverage of SpaceX’s first landing attempts, where they crashed into the barge and exploded and everyone was like “it’s a failure, it will never work”. Yeah but so much went right. I think it’s just the (well deserved) media narrative Boeing is in now. When you kill hundreds of people and then pretend it wasn’t your fault, you get what’s coming to you.

A significant share of the blame for the crashes accrues to the pilots who did not remember/follow emergency procedures for runaway trim. There was also the LA problem of putting an airplane back into service despite the critical malfunction on the earlier flight.

To reiterate, the procedure is:

1. restore trim to normal with the electric thumb switches

2. throw the stab trim cutoff switches

Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#505

Post by petilon »

AnssiH wrote: post #444
petilon wrote: post #413

How did Airbus avoid the problem Boeing ran into? As I understand, Boeing wanted to use larger engines because larger, hotter engines burn less fuel. But increasing the diameter of the engine ordinarily means raising the wing in order to accommodate it but that would make the plane incompatible with existing infrastructure (such as jet bridges) at airports. For that reason Boeing positioned the engine forward on the…

Boeing 737 was designed to operate with minimal ground facilities and therefore it has low ground clearance for easier access. Airbus A320 has a much higher ground clearance.

In hindsight, should Boeing have increased the Max's ground clearance before fitting it with a large engine? I read that Boeing did not want to do this because that would have meant that the Max would not be compatible with existing airport infra. But if competitor Airbus already has a larger ground clearance then surely Boeing would be no worse off?

Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#506

Post by codehalo »

MaupitiBlue wrote: post #118
codehalo wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your #2 implies multiple sensors (see #1). My understanding is that one AOA is default, and you could purchase additional sensors (I read somewhere that Southwest did). Sounds like the typical stupid idea suggested by a marketer or accountant that engineers beg and plead not to do. Frankly, the whole thing reeks of profit at the expense of engineering, safety, and security.

So a Professional Engineer, who would understand the implications of a single AOA sensor much better than an accountant, signed off on the design anyway? It sounds like we need to find out who that person was and arrest them.

Well, engineers and scientists are known for bowing to the wills and whims of management. They build the devices, and let the salespeople and management peddle the product as they see fit. Car manufacturers would make wheels optional if the could get away with it.

Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#507

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

> Chairman David Calhoun, a former General Electric executive who has been on the Boeing board since 2009, will take over as CEO and president, effective from Jan. 13, Boeing said.

Given that Jack Welch popularized this cost cutting and financial shenanigans at the expense of engineering, and they are making a former General Electric executive the CEO, I do not have high hopes that Boeing has learned its lesson.

Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#508

Post by fsckboy »

softwaredoug wrote: post #481
qwioeue wrote: post #474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boeing stock price today is 337.55. In Jan 2009, it was $42. That's a 8x return. SP500 closed at 3221 today. In Jan 2009, it was about $890 and that is only a 3.6x return. Hindsight is 20/20, but you might've been even happier if you kept all your 401k in Boeing.

Interesting! Maybe so. I exited around 2012 with a tidy sum

including the recent losses, Boeing is up 150% in the last 5 years versus the S&P 500 which is up only 50%

Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#509

Post by afjl »

sjg007 wrote: post #363
leetrout wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could be better... in the University of North Carolina System you are FORCED to participate in 401(k) or the state pension and once you pick one you have to keep it throughout your employment.

State pension seems like the better way to go...

What about the risk that the government slashes your benefits?

Re: Boeing CEO ousted as 737 Max crisis deepens

#510

Post by olefoo »

rossdavidh wrote: post #488

So, realistically, what will happen? Not what _should_ happen, but what will actually happen? 1) the current board will continue 2) European (and other) regulators will not be impressed 3) Boeing sales vs. Airbus will not return to their previous levels for years, if ever; a goodly percentage of international travel will be locked up for Airbus 4) Boeing will also face more competition from SpaceX (and perhaps others…

Given that they are sitting on close to $10 Billion in unsold and possibly undeliverable inventory. I would not be surprised to see them re-org.
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