United CEO Scott Kirby publicly stated that he was disappointed with Boeing's manufacturing problems and revealed that the company planned to cancel orders for the Boeing 737 Max 10. On Tuesday (January 23) local time, Kirby said in an interview with the media: "I am disappointed with the manufacturing challenges that Boeing continues to face. They are taking action, and I can only hope that they do it faster."
Earlier this month, shortly after taking off from Portland, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines suffered a closed cabin door near the left wing that fell off.
After the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the 737 MAX 9 passenger aircraft to be grounded in the United States to undergo safety inspections.
Last week, the FAA also recommended that airlines using Boeing 737-900ER aircraft add additional safety inspections because they have the same emergency door design. "I'm disappointed that Boeing's ongoing manufacturing challenges are nothing new," Kirby said.
According to media reports, United Airlines is Boeing's top customer, with 79 737 MAX 9 aircraft, more than all other airlines. Yesterday, United Airlines stated in its financial report that the continued grounding will lead to a loss for the airline in the first quarter of 2024.
Although a solution to end the grounding of the MAX9 is about to be released, Kirby warned that U.S. regulators will intensify their scrutiny of Boeing, and there will definitely be delays in the certification of the MAX10 passenger aircraft, and United Airlines has lost patience. Kirby also revealed that the company may purchase aircraft from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
Currently, United Airlines and Boeing still have long-term orders for the MAX10 aircraft, but the launch of the aircraft is at least five years behind schedule and may be further delayed. Kirby said: "I think the grounding of the MAX9 may be the last straw for us, and we will at least develop a plan that does not include the MAX10."
It should be noted that such an explicit expression of displeasure by Kirby is extremely rare in an industry where trading partners typically resolve their differences through private discussions.
It is reported that Kirby has recently been venting his dissatisfaction with Boeing management to colleagues and expressing his concerns about the handling of the MAX9 grounding. Although Kirby did not directly call for changes at Boeing's top brass, he sought support from many sources to reform his management, people familiar with the matter said.
In an exclusive interview, Kirby blamed Boeing's corporate culture problems on the merger and acquisition deal with competitor McDonnell Douglas in the 1990s. "My own assessment is that this can be traced back to the merger with McDonnell Douglas, which started a process of continuous change in corporate culture."
Some analysts believe that after the "Merger of the Century", Boeing's original engineering-oriented corporate culture was disintegrated by McDonnell Douglas's pro-Wall Street financial culture. Both the board of directors and senior executives have joined a considerable number of financial professionals. In addition, in order to motivate management to push up the stock price, Boeing has linked a considerable part of the executive compensation structure to the stock price.
Last Wednesday, the CEO of AerCap, another major customer of Boeing and the world's largest aircraft leasing company, also pointed out that Boeing can no longer afford another accident and emphasized that the company must lower the priority of financial goals and put the quality and safety of the aircraft first.