Boeing may have done wrong, but we all need it to succeed

The past few years have been rough flying for Boeing, with much of it self-inflicted.

Their machinists recently voted to strike, after executives offered a significant pay increase and job security for their manufacturing and assembly workers in the Seattle area. The downstream impact of the strike will be felt across its entire supply chain and impact employees throughout the company.

Yet such internal issues are on the heels of problems with airplanes in service around the world.

Two crashes involving the 737 Max airplanes exposed design and quality control issues that forced the FAA to ground all these planes, impacting several airlines (including American, United and Southwest ). Then some Boeing airplanes began to literally break apart while in flight. This created a perception that Boeing airplanes were unsafe to fly on and travelers should avoid them for their own personal well-being.

As with many news headlines, perception does not always match reality.

Air travel continues to be a remarkably safe mode of transportation. The nation’s air system is highly regulated (and rightly so), with security overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the air system overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration, with support from the National Transportation Safety Board. Its multiple moving parts is a challenge to oversee, secure and protect.

With around 45,000 flights each day in the United States, the majority are executed with little fanfare. Boeing holds 42% of the global market share of airplanes. The percent is even higher for domestic carriers, with just over one-half of American’s fleet Boeing airplanes and more than three-quarters of United’s fleet Boeing airplanes.

Weather is the most common culprit when flights are disrupted. However, unexpected events do occur, like the recent Crowdstrike computer outage that created chaos for airlines. Delta was particularly hard hit, when its flight crew tracking system was disrupted, literally bringing the airline’s operations to a halt.

Boeing is a critical cog in our nation’s economy, with total revenue at around $76B and aviation contributing around 1.3% to the nation’s gross domestic product. Yet commercial aviation, albeit an important component of their business, is not the only value that they provide. Boeing generates around 35% of its revenue from products related to defense, space and security, building aircraft for the Department of Defense and NASA, as well as several U.S. allies.

Boeing’s direct competitor for large commercial airplanes is the European company Airbus. Their airplanes are used by most American carriers (Southwest is the one exception, which only flies Boeing 737 airplanes as a strategy to streamline parts inventory and maintenance operations). Yet one global company manufacturing large airplanes cannot fill all the needs of all airlines around the world.

Boeing is working through its challenges. The recent agreement reached by the Department of Justice with Boeing, effectively serving as penalties and retribution for the two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, may not be viewed as satisfactory or adequate, especially to the family and friends of those who lost their lives.

Though air travel is remarkably safe, it is not risk-free. A major commercial airplane crash has not occurred in the United States since July 2013, when an Asiana Airlines flight crashed at San Francisco International Airport, killing three people and injuring several dozen. This safety record can be attributed to the many checks-and-balances in place across the nation’s air system, including the extensive amount of maintenance and attention to detail paid to keep airplanes operational and safe.

Yet despite of all such precautions, over an extended period of time, the laws of large numbers suggest that something may eventually go awry.

Boeing’s reputation has taken a hit. This led to its CEO resigning earlier this year and a shakeup in their leadership.

When airplane issues are hidden that compromise air travel safety, and subterfuge (actual or perceived) prevails, Boeing should be held accountable; their guilty pleas suggest that this is what they are willing to accept. This strategy is also the quickest path forward to get the negative public perception behind them. Unfortunately, the recent machinists strike draws bad press back to them.

Clearly, the 737 MAX has been a problem, and actions to rectify such problems have been taken. Announcements that the Boeing machinist strike will impact 737 MAX deliveries confirms this.

What should not be lost in this debacle is that that every day, thousands of Boeing airplanes safely take off and land with little fanfare.

In a world where social media dominates how people get news, perception may not always be reality. Whistleblowers at Boeing called foul on how the company oversaw the manufacture of 737 Max airplanes. Clearly, the company can do better, and continuous improvement is an important component of processes that all successful manufacturing and service companies embrace.

The bright light that has been shone on the 737 Max ensures that every airplane now put into service by Boeing is most certainly being manufactured to an even higher standard than it was just five years ago.

Boeing has done some wrong, but they also have done much good and continue to do so. Everyone who boards a flight on a Boeing airplane is the beneficiary of such good.