As we enter 2025, we ask the following – Can Seattle-based Boeing bring themselves back to glory, or at least have a better year in 2025?
The American planemaker had a difficult 2024.
From the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout to the regulatory scrutiny that followed as a result, this was the last thing they needed last year.
Analysts expected 2024 to be a better year for the American planemaker at the start, but that just wasn’t meant to be.
So will 2025 be a better year?
Boeing Looks to Move Away from 2024 Disruption Which Hit Seattle Hard…
It is safe to say, without argument, that Seattle-based Boeing had a very chaotic and negative 2024.
The start was very chaotic, through the incident which occurred with Alaska Airlines flight AS1282.
Furthermore, as the investigation evolved, it was very clear that the manufacturer was in some serious trouble.
In the preliminary investigations, such developments about the lack of records on the airframe as well as production processes were brought into public view.
Away from the Boeing 737 MAX, the FAA decided to probe the inspection records of the 787 program, based in South Carolina.
Fastener issues were then detected with the 787 as well, although this was understood to not have posed a safety concern for airlines.
New CEO, New Direction?
This even resulted in the previous CEO Dave Calhoun having to testify before the U.S Senate back in June 2024.
He faced significant heat in regards to not speaking to whistleblowers about the safety culture, as well as on AS1282 itself too.
After the Senate hearings, things did begin to get worse for Boeing, and for the spirit of Seattle as well.
The NTSB sanctioned the American planemaker for speaking to the media on non-public investigated information.
However, there was some positivity by July 2024 when the Boeing 777X began it’s certification test flights.
Unfortunately though, this was mired by the planemaker having to plead guilty to fraud in the 737 MAX crashes of Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302.
In that month, Calhoun was also ousted as CEO, and Kelly Ortberg was assigned as the successor.
By August, the NTSB began it’s hearing on the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout.
This revealed a culture of pressure and lack of accountability for issues ongoing at Boeing.
It was not good news at all for the production line in Seattle and for the 737 MAX at Boeing.
Not long after this, new CEO Kelly Ortberg outlined his strategy to rebuild trust and restore status, which included:
- Ensuring the safety and quality of commercial aircraft
- Meeting deadlines for defense and space products
- Providing reliable service for existing products
A Chaotic Final Quarter of 2024: Strike Action & More…
As we approached the final quarter of 2024, things did not improve for Boeing or from their operations in Seattle at all.
They had to ground their 777X test fleet amongst the discovery of a structural problem.
The grounding decision came after a critical engine mounting structure failure was discovered on one of the aircraft.
On top of that, the FAA mandated inspections of Boeing 787 Dreamliners after an incident involving a pilot’s seat on a LATAM Airlines flight.
Because of this, it would then affect 18 million seats across 64,000 flights, across 895 different aircraft.
All in the same month of August as well, a former Boeing employee blew the whistle further on the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash, which shook Seattle to it’s core.
These documents outline a series of electrical issues that were discovered during the assembly of the aircraft.
This had notably resulted in “uncommanded rolls” and other potentially dangerous flight behaviors.
As we entered September, a new issue was also arising: A new labor agreement with workers.
IAM751, based in Seattle, began the work of negotiating new labor contracts with Boeing workers.
As a result of negotiations not being completed successfully at first, strike action occurred.
This prompted Boeing to go on the attack and plan temporary layoffs.
As strikes continued, this forced Boeing to make further cuts across it’s global operation.
They announced that 17,000 jobs would be axed, and that the 777X would be delayed to 2026 as a result.
On top of this, a move was announced to secure around a $35bn bailout plan due to the increased costs accrued during the strikes and over this year.
This was later seen through the posting of a $6.2bn Q3 loss.
Strike Action Ends: Move On?
By November, the strike in Seattle between IAM 751 and Boeing ended, after billions of dollars lost by the planemaker.
Things couldn’t exactly move on, however, during the final quarter of the year.
The FAA issued further warnings to the 737 Family through a rudder component issue as well as issues with it’s engines.
In the same month, Boeing did manage to produce some strong news from Seattle.
They managed to land their first major 737 MAX deal after the strike resolution, with Avia Solutions Group ordering 40 of the -8 variant.
However, that positive PR was short-lived due to some more announcements coming through the public domain.
A U.S Federal Judge dealt a blow to Boeing and rejected a plea deal brokered with the DOJ.
The plea deal, which would have seen Boeing plead guilty to one count of criminal fraud and pay a $243 million fine.
This has now been deemed insufficient by Judge Reed O’Connor.
On top of this, the American planemaker issued a further layoff notice to over 200 engineering staff, as well as to another 396 on top of that.
However, they were able to end December somewhat on a high by resuming the 737 MAX production line as well as for the 777 and 767 lines too.
And that was the 2024 brief timeline of Boeing, and it wasn’t great for Seattle.
CEO Kelly Ortberg Still Has A Lot of Work To Do…
Going into 2025, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg wants to bring better success from Seattle.
One notable aspect was that he wanted to bring things back to Seattle, rather than house himself in Arlington, Virginia.
“Because what we do is complex, I firmly believe that we need to get closer to the production lines and development programs across the company,” he said in a letter to staff.
Furthermore, this will be welcome news so then Ortberg can monitor things more closely.
However, a lot of critics believe that there needs to be more action from Ortberg.
From a financial point of view, he will be responsible for getting the planemaker out of the financial hole it finds themselves in.
This means production rates need to be ramped up, but safely.
As per The Air Current, they could be being very ambitious already.
It is understood Boeing want to increase the production rate of the 737 MAX from Seattle to 38 per month by the Spring.
On top of this, they seek to triple their output by 2027.
As this piece discusses next, given the current cultural and operational situation, this could be hard to achieve.
But to conclude this section, it is clear that Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has a lot of work to do from his new home in Seattle.
Will There Be A Cultural Shift?: A Topic of Discussion…
For Boeing to be able to achieve their goals, they will have to change a major part of the company: Their culture in Seattle.
It has been clear from whistleblowers over the course of last year that the production culture with management has been insufficient.
Furthermore, if they wish to achieve 38 aircraft per month in 2025, they need to be able to do this safely.
FAA Oversight in 2025?
With this in mind, it is exactly the reason why the FAA increased their oversight in 2024.
The question does remain with this: Will the FAA continue this oversight as production ramp-up continues?
Outgoing FAA administrator Mike Whitaker believes that it will be here to stay, via a blog post made on Medium.
“Boeing is working to make progress executing its comprehensive plan in the areas of safety, quality improvement and effective employee engagement and training.”
“We’re actively monitoring the results and keeping a close eye on work at key Boeing facilities.”
“FAA safety experts continually review the effectiveness of the changes; senior FAA leaders meet with Boeing weekly to review their performance metrics, progress, and any challenges they’re facing; we have conducted an unprecedented number of unannounced audits; and we conduct monthly status reviews with Boeing executives to monitor progress.”
“Our enhanced oversight is here to stay.”
“But this is not a one-year project.”
“What’s needed is a fundamental cultural shift at Boeing that’s oriented around safety and quality above profits.”
“That will require sustained effort and commitment from Boeing, and unwavering scrutiny on our part.”
“I have the utmost confidence that the agency’s highly skilled and deeply committed team of safety professionals will continue to apply the rigorous oversight required to make sure this happens after my tenure as Administrator ends.”
Boeing Seem Committed To Work Well Towards Safety…
As per USA Today, Boeing has said they are working in a number of areas to improve safety.
This includes:
- Increased confidentiality protections for employees who identify issues
- Greater investment in workforce training
- Random quality audits on the production line
- Plans to overhaul training documents
So, really, the ball is in Boeing’s court to succeed in 2025 out of Seattle.
Only they can adhere to these standards set by the FAA.
If they don’t, then they only have themselves to blame, and more negative aspects will occur.
2025 will be a vital year for them. If they can’t get it right, when will they?
Can They Bring Themselves Back in 2025?
So, can Boeing bring themselves back in 2025, and create success once again in Seattle?
They definitely have the opportunity there to do so.
However, they must do this safely, and for once, not let the financial aspect drive decisions that may affect culture and the quality of aircraft.
Over the decades, Boeing has been known as a major powerhouse in the aviation industry.
But since the fateful crashes of Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, the years after has surrounded the American planemaker with controversy, heartbreak and much more.
The industry cannot live without Boeing, due to it’s monopolistic status against major rival Airbus. Even CEO Guillaume Faury admits this.
If a major brand like Boeing disappears from the radar, it creates a gap large enough to cause some pretty significant disruption to the industry.
So under the guidance of CEO Kelly Ortberg, the priority needs to be bringing the planemaker back to it’s once-legendary status and also a strong competitor once again in the market.
If he can’t achieve this, then it is a question of what happens next for this staple of the American economy and the wider aviation industry.
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