After a series of technical disasters followed by prompt investigations… Boeing’s CEO announced that he would be stepping down. With severe scrutiny over their airplane manufacturing, Boeing is on the brink of failure…
And its repercussions will be felt throughout the aviation industry…
America’s GDP…
And your travel spending.
Errors in Boeing’s Airplane Manufacturing
Boeing, the leader in American airplane manufacturing, is not a perfect company. Yet as of late…
It seems they can’t avoid being in the commercial aircraft spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Their troubles began in January when a door panel blew off a Boeing plane mid-flight. While no one was harmed during the Alaskan Airlines flight, at a higher altitude the incident could’ve been catastrophic.
Following that, a Latam flight, also operating with a Boeing plane, dropped midflight before picking up again. Passengers were flying out of their seats, injuring 50.
In response to these incidents, Boeing has been on damage control. Both incidents have called international attention to quality control…
In Boeing’s airplane manufacturing process.
Regulators have been cracking down, introducing a series of audits…
Federal investigations…
And endless questions regarding the company’s safety practices.
Investigations found that the door panel that blew off the Alaskan Airlines flight was not properly bolted down by the time it left the factory. Making matters worse, Boeing informed a congressional panel…
THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIND ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS THAT DETAILED THE WORK COMPLETED ON THE DOOR PANEL. YIKES.
As for the Latam flight, the plunging flight was erroneously thought to be due to a technical failure…
However, after initial reports, the incident was caused by a flight attendant who hit a button on the pilot’s chair…
Pushing the pilot over the controls and causing the plane’s nose to drop.
Airlines…
Federal agencies…
And passengers have been calling for limitations on Boeing’s executive abilities until changes are made. Until then, Boeing is facing:
- Limits on how many planes they can build and ship
- A criminal inquiry
- Audits reporting dozens of lapses in security and quality control.
Yet, this bad press doesn’t only affect one of the largest airplane manufacturing companies…
It could affect the rest of the general aviation industry.
How Boeing’s Misconduct Affects Everything
In the face of Boeing’s airplane manufacturing issues…
The company has been bleeding money for months.
The Alaskan Airlines flight cost Boeing over $150 million. That’s on top of the losses the company endured during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for their hiring, it doesn’t look like Boeing is going to follow through with the wave of layoffs in other industries. In fact, they might be hiring more people to manage their quality control issues.
However, hiring new personnel in the aerospace industry is expensive…
And adds to the financial hole the company is digging itself into.
But, you need to spend money to make money. Hopefully, that old adage pays off, considering that…
BOEING HAS LOST $24 BILLION IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS
Boeing’s losses and the grand fumbling of their airplane manufacturing puts their number one competitor…
French rival Airbus, in an ideal position…
NOW, AIRBUS HAS SUPERSEDED BOEING AS THE NUMBER ONE AIRCRAFT COMPANY IN THE WORLD.
But it’s not a matter of simply being the only other reliable option… Airbus is actively using this opportunity to expand and grow its business.
In a massive deal, Korean Air Lines ordered 33 wide-body Airbus jets for $13.7 billion—no rest for those in big business.
However, this issue goes beyond two rivals in aircraft production. It extends to the rest of the economy and can impact our own spending when it comes to travel.
Airbus’s success might be uplifting for our friends across the pond in Europe, but not so much at home.
With more eyes falling on Boeing and its lapses in airplane manufacturing, it raises eyebrows and subsequent mistrust. If more airlines, domestic and international, start to favor the European Airbus, this could potentially tank America’s GDP.
Issues In Airplane Manufacturing Leads To Issues Everywhere Else
In the short term, Boeing’s limits on how many commercial airplanes they are manufacturing and shipping to airlines…
Can trickle down and create issues varying from slight annoyance to unavoidable problems.
For starters, fewer planes mean more of a delay in production lines and deliveries…
More than that, with a shortage of commercial aircrafts being sent to airlines…
Higher demand for air travel translates to higher airfare for the average traveler…
Not only is everything getting more expensive in our day-to-day lives, but vacations are getting more costly as well… Thanks, Boeing.
Besides, the biggest thing that Boeing needs to worry about is not federal regulators…
Or overseas competition…
It’s losing customer trust and credibility.
When you start to get a reputation for being lax on quality control in airplane manufacturing…
IT SHOULD NOT COME AS A SHOCK THAT PUBLIC SUPPORT AND TRUST BEGIN TO FALTER.
In fact, more people are starting to take alternate forms of transportation because they feel they can’t trust the aircraft manufacturing industry.
Not to mention, with airfare going up in price…
Cheap train tickets and better convenience are more than enough to turn causal fliers into train station devotees.
Can Boeing Stick The Landing?
So in the face of all this terrible press and lapses in airplane manufacturing…
Hopefully, Boeing can see the writing on the wall…
And realize that they need serious upgrades because they cannot afford to lose more business and their customers…
Because if things keep going the way they are now…
Frequent fliers won’t be able to afford the airfare.
Be Great,
GCTV Staff
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