LONDON — European planemaker Airbus wants to showcase its newest passenger jet with daily flight demonstrations at one of the world’s largest aviation trade shows. However, due to an ongoing safety and manufacturing issue, rival Boeing will keep a low profile at the Farnborough International Air Show.
The ailing American company is not bringing any jetliners to participate in aerial demonstrations at the show, which begins Monday near London. Before the show’s opening, the business stated that it remained focused on resolving the concerns of US regulators and “meeting our customer commitments” rather than selling many airplanes.
Boeing’s Chief Operating Officer, Stephanie Pope, stated that the company was focused on “predictable deliveries” of planes to airline customers and increasing production of its troublesome 737 Max jets to 38 per month.
Troubled Boeing Stays Close To The Ground At A Major UK Air Show
“This is a transformative change. And as you all know, we have considerably slowed down our factories to implement that transition,” Pope, who also serves as CEO of Boeing’s commercial jets segment, told reporters on Sunday.
The Farnborough exhibition, held every other year in conjunction with the Paris Air Show, has long been a platform for aerospace businesses to showcase their latest technological advancements and for manufacturers to announce a flurry of orders for new passenger, cargo, and military aircraft. Organizers expect approximately 1,500 exhibitors from 42 nations and 80,000 visitors during the week-long exhibition.
Boeing’s low-key presence at this year’s event reflects the company’s ongoing problems.
In a news statement, Boeing Global President Brendan Nelson stated that the business has “reduced our commercial airplanes display and flight demonstrations at the show, and will focus on new technology, sustainability, security, and services solutions.”
The airline has been suffering after a door plug broke out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 during a flight earlier this year, reigniting safety concerns that had subsided after two Max jet crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
The panel’s collapse and a slew of current and former employees coming out to allege quality-control flaws and retaliation against whistleblowers reopened federal investigations. The Justice Department has reinstated a criminal fraud charge against Boeing in connection with the deadly crashes. Boeing agreed to plead guilty this month as part of an arrangement that requires an independent monitor to oversee the company’s compliance.
Boeing’s leadership is in flux as it hunts for a successor to CEO David Calhoun, who will step down at the end of the year. Calhoun apologized to crash victims’ families during a questioning by US lawmakers last month about the company’s safety record.
“Hopefully, a new CEO next year will make that horrible situation better, but until then, people are just circling the wagons and doing what they can to keep the company running,” said Richard Aboulafia, a long-time aerospace analyst and now a consultant at AeroDynamic Advisory. “It’s a tragedy and an embarrassment, but hopefully this air show will be remembered as the darkness before the dawn.”
Boeing’s “customers have been very supportive,” said Pope, Calhoun’s potential successor. But “it doesn’t change the fact that we have disappointed them. And we’ve had an impact on their business.
“We are a stable company,” she explained.
While Airbus will participate in the aerial displays over Farnborough with its new passenger jet, the A321XLR, Boeing will not have any passenger jets performing flypasts for the air show crowds but one of its F-15 fighting jets. This is in contrast to the previous exhibition in 2022 when the American corporation showed the most recent models of its 777 and 737 Max aircraft during press visits and flights.
Static displays of aircraft parked on the tarmac are popular among air show spectators. Airbus will have three passenger jets on the ground, owned by its airline customers, whereas Boeing will only have one, a 787 from Qatar Airways.
“Normally, they’d be there absolutely in force, taking every opportunity for publicity and flying aircraft,” said airline expert John Strickland of JLS Consulting.
This time, the company has “got to be seen as being more contrite, that they’re focusing on safety, getting their house in order, getting back to winning back trust and respect as a dependable manufacturer of safe, commercially driven aircraft,” Strickland continued.
Despite having its wings clipped and curtailing production following the Alaska Airlines tragedy, Boeing announced fresh deals for widebody jets. According to Boeing, Korean Air plans to buy 20 777s and 20 787 Dreamliners, while Japan Airlines has committed to order 10 787s, with options for an additional 10 Dreamliners. Commercial airlines are hungry for more planes as demand for air travel recovers following the coronavirus outbreak, and Boeing and Airbus hold a market duopoly.
Troubled Boeing Stays Close To The Ground At A Major UK Air Show
Both manufacturers are already dealing with a backlog of orders that will take years to clear. Boeing’s monthly order figures have fallen, allowing Airbus to increase its sales lead discreetly. The Toulouse, France-based manufacturer, has been developing the A321XLR, a fuel-efficient aircraft that is gaining traction among airlines because it will allow them to fly cheaper narrow-body jets on long-haul flights.
The model is behind schedule but is anticipated to be certified later this year. It has already received over 500 orders from American Airlines and Air Canada.
Also at Farnborough, air taxi firms, including Boeing’s Wisk Aero, will showcase electric aircraft that might soon take to the skies, though they will only do demonstration flights. Several businesses have been developing aircraft that take off and land vertically, promoting them as a sustainable mode of transportation for densely populated cities or locations with underdeveloped mass transit networks.
In a possible indicator that air taxis are becoming a reality, German startup Lilium announced last week a deal to sell 50 aircraft to aviation conglomerate Saudia Group, which operates Saudi Arabia’s national airline, for an unknown fee. The first delivery is scheduled for 2026.
SOURCE | AP
