Boeing to implement design changes to whole fleet this year

Boeing has announced that it will be implementing changes to its design in order to prevent similar incidents to when a door panel was blown out during a flight.

This was confirmed during a two-day series of hearings held by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding Boeing’s 737 Max 9.

The hearings relate to the controversial incident that took place in January, when a door panel blew out mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, Canada.

This was subsequently followed by an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States which disclosed that the company had failed 33 of 39 audits carried out by the administration.

The investigation revealed that the door involved in the incident had four missing bolts, which was why it blew out.

Furthermore, the company’s manufacturing process was also criticised as most of its suppliers, Spirit AeroSystems, were lacking in quality control.

During the hearing, Boeing stated that the design changes are likely to be completed this year and will be implemented across its whole fleet.

One of the main changes is that door plugs will no longer close unless they are firmly secured.

Until the changes are implemented, Boeing has taken steps to prevent this issue from arising again. For instance, when door plugs arrive at the factories, they have signs on them telling employees explicitly that they are not to be opened.

Boeing reports net loss of €1.3 billion

During its second quarter (Q2) of 2024, Boeing reported a net loss of €1.3 billion. This was a sharp rise from the €135.6 million loss that was registered in the same quarter in 2023.

The net loss per share amounted to €2.12 in Q2 2024, up from €0.23 per share in Q2 2023.

Boeing reported revenues of €15.3 billion for the second quarter of the year, down from €18 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.

Meanwhile, for the first half of the year, revenues were €30.3 billion, reflecting an 11 per cent decrease from the H1 2023. The net loss for H1 2024 was €1.6 billion, up from €523 million in H1 2023.

Commenting on these figures, Boeing’s then-President and CEO Dave Calhoun noted that despite a challenging quarter, the company “made substantial progress in strengthening its quality management system and positioned the company for the future.”