Boeing's top management jumps: the 737 MAX curse strikes again
The man of change, the ceo of Boeing's redemption has been trapped in the 737 MAX affair. A few hours ago, in fact, the [...]
Man of change, Boeing's redemption ceo trapped in affair 737 MAX. A few hours ago, in fact, the U.S. manufacturer announced that the CEO Dave Calhoun will resign, leaving office at the end of the year.
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There would be nothing strange about it-in such a multinational corporation, changes in top roles are a constant-if it were not for the fact that Calhoun had been chosen to shake up Boeing's image after the two Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines disasters That affected the 737 Max in 2019.
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What if Boeing itself did not come from an early year. horribilis in which technical problems, flaws, and revisions (which have always interested in the 737 Max) have been on the agenda.
The earthquake in the Boeing household
Finally, the announcement is even more striking when the official press release of Dave Calhoun's resignation also states, Larry Kellner, will not run again and that Stan Deal, ceo of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (the division that deals specifically with commercial aviation aircraft) is leaving the company effective immediately.
A real earthquake that resets the summits of the most important company (along with Airbus) company that builds the planes we fly on every day.
The men of the changeover, have finally been scrapped. With Calhoun's choice not to continue as Boeing's ceo and Deal's concomitant exit, in fact, the U.S. company can now send a message of change at one of the most complex moments in its history.
The moves after the 2019 incidents
A déjà -vu to be sure, as Calhoun had taken office in March 2020 replacing Dennis Muilenburg exactly one year after the 737Max crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that had resulted in more than 300 deaths and many doubts about the safety of the aircraft.
Incidents that had resulted in the "grounding" (grounding) of all models similar aircraft, the requirement for new certifications and overhauls, and a long delay in the production of one of the world's best-selling aircraft.
Calhoun was called to fulfill a twofold mission: cleaning up Boeing's image after the Lion Air and Ethiopian accidents on the one hand; and restoring the industry's confidence in Boeing's quality, design, and manufacturing processes; activities pointed to as the ones responsible for the accidents.
Calhoun's other major goal was to embody a specific message: Boeing would return to the business of much more than engineering and security, bringing revenue, financial assets and dividends for shareholders into the background.
The Alaska Airlines case and reputational damage
But the past few months have been marked by a series of incidents that have put the company's top management in trouble. The most notable of these was the one that occurred on January 5 to a 737 MAX-9 from Alaska Airlines, who had lost the tailgate During takeoff.
The use of aircraft of that model had therefore been temporarily suspended in many countries, and the Federal Aviation Administration had opened an investigation.
Over the course of the next few weeks, additional small incidents occurred that revealed ormissions and production defects which Boieng resolved with patience and perseverance. But the image damage was now too extensive, and delays in new aircraft deliveries have worsened the manufacturer's reputation.
"As you know the accident on the Alaska Airlines flight was a watershed moment for Boeing. We have to Continue to respond to this incident with humility and complete transparency. We must also inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of the company," Dave Calhoun himself stressed in his resignation letter addressed to employees.
Yet another change of course?
In fact, from 2020 to the present, Boeing has never given the impression that it has made a real change of course and has not even managed to introduce a new aircraft: the 777X is still undergoing certification as is the -10 version (the most capacious) of the 737MAX; and both are still new versions of older models already on the market.
Once again, then, the curse of the 737 MAX, the plane that was supposed to conquer the global short- to medium-haul market, comes down on Boeing and its top executives. Summits that Were not chosen "outside the scope of the company", but who have their own past and history within the Seattle giant.
They could not have been unaware, therefore, of the design problems of the 737 MAX, nor of those related to the supply chain that are delaying deliveries of the new aircraft.
They were supposed to be the solution to a problem created by Muilenburg and the previous management, but first and foremost Have failed to address the inefficiencies Boeing's basic businesses.
Next, then, with the hope that the next managers will be able to interpret the future of flying putting in the attic, once and for all, the mistakes of the present and the past.