The Boeing Company is receiving hopeful praise from one airline CEO, while another has offered stinging criticism.
As the strike of 33,000 machinists at the company enters its seventh week, it is impacting deliveries of airplanes. Nonetheless, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan remains pragmatic. He doesn’t have much of a choice since Southwest operates an all-Boeing fleet.
“We need Boeing to be strong. We need Boeing to be better,” he said.
New Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg faces a slew of operational issues, but chief among them is probably the strike, which is limiting production of Boeing’s most popular and profitable models. The union representing the machinists has already rejected a tentative proposal.
Jordan said the strike has already surpassed Southwest’s contingency plan of four to six weeks. That presents a challenge for the carrier in terms of trying to balance its fleet with its flight schedules.
American Airlines CEO Is Not So Tempered
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom wasn’t so temperate with his comments, maintaining his criticism of the company.
“I look forward to the day when they’re not just a distraction,” Isom said. “We’ve been struggling with them...for over the last five years.”
American doesn’t have nearly the investment in Boeing planes as Southwest does and Isom expects he will hit capacity this year and next.
“I feel really confident about us being able to deliver and manage our business no matter what is going on at Boeing,” Isom said. “At the end of the day, though, we need [Boeing] to deliver quality aircraft on time.”
This is not the first time Isom has criticized Boeing. In a January earnings call, he said “Boeing needs to get their act together.”
Boeing just suffered through a disastrous third quarter.
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