United CEO ‘disappointed’ in Boeing problems, will consider options

The CEO of United Airlines said he is “disappointed” in the recent problems from Boeing that have led to the grounding of many United planes and said the airline will consider new options in the future.

Scott Kirby said Boeing needs “real action” to restore its reputation and that he has spoken with Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s CEO, to express his frustration.

“Well, look, you know, we’re Boeing’s biggest customer in the world. They’re our biggest partner in the world,” Kirby said in an interview with CBNC. “We need Boeing to succeed … but they’ve been having these consistent manufacturing challenges and they need to take action together.”

Boeing has faced intense scrutiny since the start of the year as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched an investigation and ordered the grounding of nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane midflight in early January.

The FAA announced Monday that another Boeing aircraft uses similar door plugs and recommended airlines check their fleets.

Kirby said Calhoun agrees real action is necessary, but right now, as the investigations into the Max aircraft continue, Kirby is “a lot more interested” in what Boeing will do after.

“But on the backside of this, what are the real actions to really get the manufacturing process back to the high levels of quality, consistency that historically existed,” he said.

Alaska and United Airlines, two of the U.S. airlines that fly Boeing aircraft, along with American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, have experienced mounting delays, cancelations and issues since grounding the planes to inspect for loose bolts in door panels. They each have reported finding loose bolts on some Max 9 planes.

United announced Monday that it will lose money in the first quarter of the year after dealing with the groundings. It expects to lose between $0.35 and $0.85 per share but is confident it will recover to earn a full-year profit, The Associated Press reported.

Kirby said he is disappointed in the Boeing error but is confident the planes will be safe to fly in soon.

“Well, I’m disappointed. First, I would say on the Max, is that when it’s flying, I’m 100 percent sure it’ll be safe. We have a pretty good handle on what happened,” he said, adding the Chicago-based airline tech operations team has worked around the clock to remedy the issue.

“The FAA, to their credit, has been in there with us in the weeds, on weekend, late nights,” Kirby said. “So, I think we’re near the end game on that and the airplane will be safe but I’m disappointed that the manufacturing challenges do keep happening at Boeing. This isn’t new.”

Kirby said the Max 9 grounding is “the straw that broke the camel’s back” and the company is going to build a plan that doesn’t have future Max models. He said he will continue work with Boeing but “will wait and see” if it’s necessary to consider working with a new manufacturing company.

Stan Deal, the president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement on Tuesday that the company is “deeply sorry” to their airline customers, employees and passengers for the “significant disruption.”

“We are taking action on a comprehensive plan to bring these airplanes safely back to service and to improve our quality and delivery performance,” Deal’s added. “We will follow the lead of the FAA and support our customers every step of the way.”

–Updated at 11:23 a.m.