Boeing today announced its appointment, effective immediately, of Mike Delaney to head the aviation company's new 'Confident Travel Initiative.' The initiative's team will work cooperatively across the industry to come up with new solutions to minimize health risks in air travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as raise awareness of those health safeguards that are already in place.
Currently serving as vice president of Digital Transformation at Boeing Commercial Airplanes division, having previously also held executive leadership positions in aircraft development and engineering, Delaney brings 31 years of company experience to his new role.
"As air travel slowly begins to resume and restrictions ease around the globe, health and safety remain our top priorities for our teams who design, build and service the airplanes, and all those who fly on them," said Boeing's President and CEO, David Calhoun. "Mike's deep technical expertise, leadership skills, industry knowledge and great passion for our customers make him uniquely qualified to lead this effort."
The Confident Travel Initiative team's aim is to collaborate with the world's airlines, industry stakeholders, regulators, infectious disease experts and behavioral specialists to develop industry-recognized safety recommendations.
"Air travel is coming back," said Delaney. "As that happens, we want passengers and crews to board Boeing airplanes without hesitation."
Boeing's efforts will be building upon the industry's established enhanced safety guidelines, including heightened sanitation measures, passenger temperature checks and requirements for the use of face coverings, and help further promote proven systems already in place to achieve optimal cabin cleanliness.
One of the most important systems already installed in all Boeing airplanes is the High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) cabin air filtration system-similar to those utilized in hospitals and industrial "clean rooms"-which remove 99.9 percent of particulates like as viruses, bacteria and fungi spores.
Part of Boeing's task will be researching and evaluating the efficacy of new technologies to address COVID-19 concerns, including ultraviolet (UV) light disinfecting systems and cutting-edge, antimicrobial coatings to reduce risk of transmission via high-touch surfaces. In these efforts, the team will be working with leading academics, institutions and health experts to field studies and conduct research on methods to reduce the potential spread of disease aboard airplanes.
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