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Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told reporters at the Capitol in January.
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CNN
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Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said Monday that he plans to step down from the embattled company by the end of the year in order to overhaul the company's management team. Boeing's chairman and head of its commercial aircraft division will also step down.
Boeing Chairman Larry Kellner will not run for re-election to the board. The board of directors selected former Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf to succeed him.
The company also announced that Stan Diehl, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, will be retiring. Stephanie Pope, who has been Boeing's chief operating officer since January, will take over immediately.
For more than five years, Boeing has been plagued by problems with its aircraft, including two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people, and recently a door plug blown off the side of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max. I've been troubled. In January, a large hole appeared in the side of the plane. The issue resulted in multiple citations for safety issues and cumulative losses of more than $31 billion.
In a letter to Boeing employees Monday, Calhoun called the Alaska Airlines disaster “a turning point for Boeing.”
“The world's eyes are on us,” he said in announcing his plans to retire. “We intend to fix what has gone wrong and put the company back on track for recovery and stability.”
Calhoun said in an interview with CNBC Monday morning that his decision to step down was “100 percent” his own. But it faces widespread criticism of the company by the CEOs of many of the world's major airlines, which Boeing relies on to buy its planes. Many airline CEOs last week requested to speak directly to Boeing's board, and while it is rare for customers to speak directly to a board member, Calhoun said Monday that it is a normal process. I tried to characterize it as such.
Calhoun spoke to CNBC about why he decided to stay on until the end of the year instead of stepping down immediately. We shouldn't shy away from what happened with Alaska Airlines. Don't avoid the call to action. Don't avoid necessary changes to your factory. ”
“We'll get through it,” he said. “I have committed to the board to do just that.”
Airlines are reeling both from the quality of aircraft supplied by Boeing and the fact that Boeing will not be able to deliver the planes it had hoped for this year as passenger demand continues to soar to record levels.
Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, Europe's largest airline that operates only Boeing 737s, told CNN last week that when delivering a Boeing plane, “we spend 48 hours… “We are inspecting the inside of the aircraft to check for any errors or omissions.” other than that. ”
O'Leary said that while no major problems were found during these inspections, minor issues such as missing tools or seat handles under the floorboards were regularly discovered. I think it shows a lack of consideration.” ”
United Airlines, which operates more than 80% of its mainline fleet with Boeing jets, has expressed disappointment with Boeing's quality problems and delays in scheduled deliveries.
The company is a major customer for a stretched version of the Boeing 737 Max, known as the Max 10, but has also been plagued by Boeing's inability to obtain certification to carry passengers on the plane.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the Alaska Airlines disaster was the “straw that broke the camel's back” for plans to introduce the Max 10 this year as planned, now a rival to Boeing Co. The airline said it is considering the possibility of purchasing jets from Airbus. It will replace the Max 10 I ordered.
However, it is difficult for airlines to transition to Airbus. Airbus has a long backlog of jets it has already committed to building for its existing customer base. If Boeing customers switch to Airbus, aircraft deliveries could be delayed until 2030 or later.
Also, operating two types of aircraft in the same class is expensive. Pilots are qualified to fly specific aircraft, and most pilots cannot jump between Airbus and Boeing without training. Airlines also need to have expensive spare parts on hand for every type of aircraft they operate.
Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci recently said that after his airline merged with Virgin America, it would cost between $75 million and $100 million a year to operate single-aisle planes from Airbus and Boeing. This is the reason why Airbus aircraft were discontinued after the merger. completion. And Alaska Airlines is small for a national airline, making it only the fifth largest airline in the United States. Major airlines face even greater costs by splitting aircraft between manufacturers.
Mr. Calhoun, 66, a longtime Boeing Co. director, became chairman of the company in late 2019 when the board stripped his predecessor, Dennis Muilenburg, of the title. After Muilenburg was fired in December of the same year, he was selected as CEO and assumed the position in January 2020.
Mr. Calhoun's tenure began about halfway through a 20-month grounding of the 737 Max due to a design flaw that was found to have caused two crashes. It came just before the global coronavirus pandemic brought air travel to a near standstill and caused huge losses for the airlines that rely on Boeing to buy its planes.
Boeing stock, which has lost more than 27% of its value since the beginning of the year, rose 4% in premarket trading on the news.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
