Source: Boeing sees significant improvement in 737 MAX factory after safety crisis | Reuters
Boeing (BA.N) is seeing a significant improvement in production flow at its 737 MAX factory, its new commercial planes chief said on Sunday, as the U.S. planemaker battles to overcome a safety crisis.
Speaking to reporters in London ahead of this week’s Farnborough Airshow, Stephanie Pope said the changes Boeing was making to the Seattle-area factory were significant.
“This isn’t minor change. This is transformational change,” she said in her first remarks to media since being appointed earlier this year.
“We are a stable company,” she added
Boeing is mired in crisis after a cabin panel on a 737 MAX 9 jets blew off midair in January, prompting a slowdown in production of its top-selling plane as well as heightened regulatory and legal scrutiny.
Boeing has also agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge over a probe related to two earlier fatal 737 MAX crashes, the Justice Department has said in court filings. Pope declined to comment on a plea deal.
The company is seeing a “significant improvement in the flow of our 737 factory,” Pope said, while acknowledging that Boeing has disappointed airline customers.
She said Boeing would need to be more predictable on deliveries after production slumped.
The Federal Aviation Administration in January took the unprecedented step of barring Boeing from increasing production beyond 38 MAX planes per month until it is satisfied with the planemaker’s quality and manufacturing improvements.
Pope became CEO of Boeing’s commercial division as part of a broader management shakeup that will see CEO David Calhoun stepping down by year’s end.
Pope has been cited as a possible contender to take the reins of Boeing, although the company is facing calls from airlines and some industry officials to choose a leader with an engineering background which she lacks. Pope said she was focused on her current role “24/7.”
波音公司 (BA.N) 新任商用飞机负责人周日表示，该公司 737 MAX 工厂的生产流程正在显着改善，这家美国飞机制造商正在努力克服安全危机。 本周范堡罗航展前，斯蒂芬妮·波普在伦敦对记者表示，波音对西雅图地区工厂做了重大改变。她在今年早些时候被任命以来首次对媒体发表讲话时说道，“这不是一个小变化。这是一个转型性的变化。”。她补充道，“我们是一家稳定的公司。”1月份，波音公司一架737 MAX 9喷气式飞机的机舱面板从半空中脱落，导致该公司最畅销飞机生产放缓，并加强了监管和法律审查。这使波音公司陷入危机。 美国司法部在法庭文件中表示，波音公司还同意承认一项与此前两起致命 737 MAX 坠机事件相关的刑事欺诈共谋指控。波普拒绝就认罪协议发表评论。 波普表示，该公司看到“我们 737 工厂的流量显着改善”，同时也承认波音让航空公司客户感到失望。 她表示，在产量下滑后，波音公司需要提高交付的可预测性。 美国联邦航空管理局一月份采取了史无前例的措施，禁止波音公司每月增加超过 38 架 MAX 飞机的产量，直到对飞机制造商的质量和制造改进感到满意为止。 波普成为波音商业部门的首席执行官，这是更广泛管理层改组的一部分，首席执行官大卫·卡尔霍恩将在年底前辞职。 波普被认为是接掌波音公司的可能竞争者，尽管该公司正面临航空公司和一些行业官员的呼吁，要求选择一位拥有波普所缺乏的工程背景领导者。波普表示，她“24/7”专注于当前的角色。
