After being harshly critical of Boeing in light of the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 incident and a string of production and delivery delays, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has softened his tone.
United Airlines CEO Expresses Confidence In New Boeing Leader
Kirby sat down for lunch with Kelly Ortberg, the new President and CEO of Boeing. With 418 unfilled orders, United is one of Boeing’s most important customers. Ortberg comes to Boeing from Rockwell Collins, also a commercial and defense contractor, and has more than three decades of aerospace experience.
Writing on LinkedIN, Kirby reflected on the lunch:
Earlier this week, I had lunch with Kelly Ortberg, newly appointed President and CEO at Boeing, and was not only encouraged by what I heard, but I also came away with a renewed confidence that Boeing is on the right path and will recover faster than most expect.
His engineering background at Rockwell Collins, combined with an instinct to be close to his frontline teams in Seattle, makes for a winning combination. It was clear from our discussion that he’s 100% engaged, understands the cultural changes needed to turn things around and is committed to listening to his employees and customers.
Boeing’s 170,000+ employees have the expertise, drive, and commitment to get the company back to being one of the best and most important brands in the world.
And Kelly is the right leader to take them there.
This is quite a striking change in language from Kirby warning that Boeing’s blunders represented “the straw that broke the camel’s back” for United and the 737 MAX 10 program.
> Read More: United Airlines CEO Clarifies Future Of Boeing 737 MAX 10
It also strikes me that Ortberg and Kirby seem very hands-on, detail-oriented, and sharp men (a different role for a different time than the more folksy Oscar Munoz, the former United CEO, or David Calhoun, the former Boeing CEO).
Ortberg is on the apology tour and also met with American Airlines CEO Robert Isom earlier this week. He has chosen to be based in Seattle, unlike previous Boeing leaders.
CONCLUSION
While Kirby was certainly going to give Boeing’s new CEO a chance, his strong endorsement of Ortberg is hopefully more than a strategic peace offering…for the sake of United and the sake of Boeing, let’s hope the new sheriff in town is serious about restoring credibility at beleaguered Boeing.
This is very simple, he has to do this. United is big with Boeing especially the much maligned MAX, they can only do so much with Airbus. Now if the Delta CEO does the same its a story.
Let’s hope that Kirby is not merely infatuated with Ortberg’s personality . One hamburger for lunch does not make a company competent .
Camel-a was also infatuated with Elmo’s personality , but that says more about Camel-a’s small brain .
You know who ISN’T confident in Boeing regardless of the CEO? The two astronauts that were only supposed to be on the ISS for 9 days and now it’ll be February 2025 at the earliest. Boeing should get back to concentrating on their core business and stop with the dick measuring contest, they are not going to beat Elon at the space game… Boeing was 1.6 billion over budget and 6 years over their launce schedule. Sad for a once great American company.
Boeing got a little stock bounce this week, along with the rest of the market. But still valued at less than 50% of its peak during one of the greatest rallies in market history.
Folly or opportunity? Who knows.
I’m more interested in what Ryanair would have to say….
Hmmmmm ..,, I wanna get my hands on some of that ‘secret sauce’ that Boeing put on Kirby’s boiga ! So now is the corporate HDQ moving back to its roots in SEA after its ‘US tour’ ?
@ p
I’d love to be a fly on the wall (not in the boiga) on that luncheon with Michael O’Leary …. I don’t think he’s the kind to kiss Boeing’s arse !
LOL his words mean nothing.
What else is he supposed to say? We bet on the wrong horse and have no idea what we´re doing?
Is Kirby as enthusiastic today about Boeing after the latest setback to the gerrymandered 77X??
Perhaps it’s time for him to make a visit with cap in hand to Toulouse and buy some safe and proper aircraft. I’m sure Airbus will sell to him at full list price.