PAS19: Getting it right and getting the trust back

By June 17, 2019 January 16th, 2020 General News

One of the most anticipated media briefings at the PAS19 took place early on Monday morning – Boeing’s Business Update. With the events of the 737 MAX grounding still fresh on everyone’s mind, the presentation began with Boeing stating how heart-felt sorry it was over the crashes, and that it will never happen again. Boeing’s Greg Smith, chief finance officer, Performance and Strategy, addressed the media on the current situation with the MAX series. He said: “It’s Boeing’s number one priority across all divisions to get the aircraft back into service with operators. In addition, we need to regain the confidence and trust of the operators and the flying public.”

Smith gave no date as to when the MAX would be back in service and stressed that this was in the hands of the regulators and safety was the priority. But, he did state that lessons learned from the tragedy have been applied across Boeing business practices both within the commercial and military sectors.

Boeing has introduced dedicated team-leaders for each department and has brought in additional experts in their fields from outside to assist with the MAX.

Smith apologised for the disruption caused to Boeing’s customers, particularly over the busy summer period.

Three levels of upgrades to the MCAS have been developed and introduced. It was revealed that 280 test flights had been flown by Boeing pilots.

Looking beyond the MAX, Boeing predicts that the future commercial aviation market over the next 10 years will be extremely healthy and it is well placed to bring its future commercial products to its customers.

While the media briefing could be described as tense, with everyone keen to hear the latest MAX related news, Boeing representatives handled the occasion with great dignity and respect.