Boeing Co. is driving "transformational change" based on feedback from customers, regulators and to a large part employees that will allow it to ramp up production again on its crucial 737 airliner in the second half after slowing output to fix its manufacturing, the head of the commercial aircraft business said.
Speaking in her first public appearance since taking the job as part of a management shakeup earlier this year, Stephanie Pope said the company is seeing an improvement in the factory flow for its 737 that will help a "meaningful" increase in production rates of its most important airliner. At the same time, she cautioned that some turnaround steps "will take years."
The planemaker is trying to dig itself out of a crisis since a near-catastrophic accident in January on a 737. Pope said she's spent her first months on the job "doing a lot of listening" and that the turnaround plan Boeing has devised includes developing a safety and quality plan, stabilising factories, and working on company culture.
"Our customers are very supporting," Pope said at a meeting in London, adding that the company is making "systemic change." "What makes this industry so safe is that we make mistakes and we learn."
'The Moment'
Pope was previously seen as a possible successor to Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun when she took on a more prominent role last year. The blow-out of a fuselage panel on an airborne 737 in January and the subsequent crisis shifted her into her new role, while Calhoun said he'll leave by the end of the year at the latest. Boeing is still searching for his replacement, and Pope said she won't be drawn into what the next company leader needs to do.
The board is undergoing a "robust" search for the next company leader, she said.
"Leadership is all about meeting the moment," Pope said, adding that entails engaging with people, providing accountability and creating a plan for US regulators that drives transformational change.
The Federal Aviation Administration remains very engaged at Boeing, with the regulator's inspectors still in its factories, and Pope described their interaction as "firm and fair."
A 90-day safety and quality plan that Boeing submitted to its regulator in response to the Max grounding "is not a three-month plan," Pope said.
Speaking alongside Pope at a briefing ahead of the Farnborough Air Show, Boeing Defense head Ted Colbert said the division continues to face difficulties after posting a profit in the first quarter. The results would be more akin to the third quarter of 2023, Colbert said, when the unit posted a nearly $1 billion loss.
Boeing reports earnings at the end of the month.
