Aiming to reduce
expenses after a rough year in business, Boeing
has implemented a new policy limiting the use of private jets for its top
executives.
Boeing CEO Kelly
Ortberg has grounded much of the aerospace giant's fleet of private jets and
has directed executives to fly economy class on commercial airlines instead.
Data gleaned from
flight-tracking website Flightradar24 and compiled by Bloomberg reveals a sharp
decline in the number of private jet flights the aircraft manufacturer operated
in recent months. In August, Boeing flew 146 private jet journeys, a number
which fell to 56 in September and only 29 in October.
According to Business
Insider, Boeing's corporate jets collectively accumulated around 4,500
hours of flight time with roughly 1,800 flights in 2023. That equates to about $14
million in fuel costs and 22,500 tons of CO2 emissions, according to aviation
tracking platform JetSpy.
An April filing
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that air travel
for four top Boeing executives had cost $1.9 million since 2021. Former CEO
Dave Calhoun alone accounted for $979,000 of these expenses.
The cutbacks come
as Boeing attempts to right its trajectory after a difficult year for the
company. The plane maker has hit several snags since January, including
mechanical problems with its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which left two
astronauts stranded at the International Space Station for months.
The company also
faced public scrutiny after a series of mishaps involving its aircraft,
including a terrifying incident in which a door blew out aboard an Alaska
Airlines plane mid-flight. Boeing has also suffered from the mass departure of
high-level executives, production delays and enhanced FAA oversight.
In September,
thousands of unionized employees staged a seven-week strike after contract
negotiations stalled, costing the company approximately $50 million per day,
according to estimates from Bank of America. The strike ended in early November
following the approval of a new contract.
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