EVERETT — Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg sees increased aircraft production in its troubled commercial aircraft division helping with a financial recovery this year after a disastrous 2024 meant a $11.8 billion loss and undelivered planes.
“Our backlog of more than half a trillion dollars clearly demonstrates the value of our portfolio, and we’re focused on meeting our commitments and delivering safe, high-quality products to our customers,” he told stock analysts on Tuesday.
Boeing delivered 348 jetliners last year, the company said, but it was much fewer than the 528 planes the manufacturer delivered in 2023.
Its competitor, Airbus, delivered more than twice of Boeing’s output in 2024.
Tuesday’s financial results included a $3.8 billion loss for Boeing in the last three months of 2024. Boeing has lost $35 billion since 2019.
Last year, Boeing saw a series of hits to its financial bottom line: a 54-day machinist’s strike continuing delays for Boeing’s new wide-body 777X models and new safety concerns about its 737 MAX plane aircraft.
The issues all delayed aircraft delivery depriving Boeing of needed revenue.
The new 777X planes are being manufactured at Boeing’s largest plant in Everett, which employs more than 32,000 workers.
Safety concerns with the 737 MAX also affect the Everett plant.
Boeing officials announced back in January 2023 that the Everett facility would be receiving a 737 MAX production line, adding to existing lines at its Renton plant.
But the line won’t open until the Federal Aviation Administration decides to lift restrictions that limit the production of the plane to 38 a month.
The FAA put in those restrictions after an incident involving an Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024. A panel known as a door plug blew off a 737 MAX creating a gaping hole in the plane’s side shortly after takeoff from Portland.
Prior to that, two MAX crashes in 2019 and 2020 killed 346 persons.
In January 2021, Boeing settled with the U.S. Justice Department for $2 billion, pleading guilty to criminal charges that it defrauded the FAA over plane design changes that caused safety issues.
Ortberg addressed the strike Tuesday and told stock analysts that Boeing workers are on board with working with management to get the company back on track.
“As I talk with employees, there’s a growing swell of excitement around restoring trust and getting their Boeing back, and they want to be a part of this turnaround,” he said.
Ortberg was named to the company’s top spot in August 2024, charged with rebuilding both Boeing finances and safety culture. The strike of 33,000 machinists started just six weeks later.
Part of Boeing’s plan for the future has been the Everett-built 777X. It is Boeing’s replacement to the 777, a popular wide-body plane, which first flew commercially in 1995.
But the new plane has seen repeated delays and cost overruns.
Boeing originally planned to deliver the first 777X in 2020 but a problem with the plane’s nose — it would pitch up unexpectedly without the pilot’s input during testing — became the first of a series of mechanical issues.
The latest problem for the plane came last summer after Boeing workers discovered damaged thrust links in test planes. The links connect the engine with the plane’s body.
Boeing said it rounded its entire fleet of four test planes in August 2024.Without successful test flights, the planes cannot be certified by the Federal Aviation Agency.
Boeing officials Tuesday said that the test flights resumed earlier this month and that safety issues are being addressed.
We have made important progress on thrust links and will continue to follow our rigorous safety and root cause processes as we complete testing and implement design improvements,” said Boeing spokesman Ted Land in an email. Boeing officials expect the first delivery of a 777X in 2026.
The 777X family has three models. The largest model, the 777-9 which seats 436 passengers, is scheduled to be delivered first. A smaller version, the 777-8, and a freighter version won’t be received by airlines until several years after that.
Boeing has more than 500 orders for the new planes.
Randy Diamond: 425-339-3097; randy.diamond@heraldnet.com
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
