Boeing says bye to scandals, hello to 2007

Last year was one for the history books at Boeing. But it’s not just the record-setting orders or revenue results that matter.

“2006 was a pivotal year in the Boeing Co.’s history,” Boeing CEO Jim McNerney told reporters and analysts Wednesday during a call about the company’s 2006 earnings.

Boeing finally put in the past the ethics and business problems that plagued the company in recent years, he said.

McNerney would know. He was hired in 2005 by Boeing to clean up scandals that included industrial spying and coercion of an Air Force official — not to mention the ousting of McNerney’s predecessor, Harry Stonecipher, for an affair with a Boeing employee. Last June, McNerney and Boeing agreed to pay a $615 million settlement to the Justice Department over the Air Force issue.

In 2006, during McNerney’s first full year at Boeing’s helm, the company returned to the top of the commercial airplane market, reeling in more orders than rival Airbus and out-delivering the European plane maker in terms of jet value.

With the company’s ethical lapses behind it, Boeing can focus its efforts on more productive endeavors – like keeping the 787 on schedule.

“Our challenge is to unleash Boeing’s potential,” McNerney said.

“2007 will be an exciting year,” he said.