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Three CEO's have come and gone at Boeing in a couple of years. CEO backgrounds in finance did not work, backgrounds in engineering also failed. Boeing is searching for a new CEO and this time what is sought for is a worker centric mentality from the heart and inborn that identifies with what workers go through on the manufacturing factory floor. A picture emerges about the cost of missing quality culture at Boeing, and the cost of a culture of pushing planes as fast off the manufacturing floor as possible. The Guardian reports that Boeing said it would use $4-$4.5 billion due to crisis costs after a Jan 5 accident of a nearly new Max 735 aircraft and other accidents. This includes costs related to regulatory scrutiny and costs related to lower aircraft production and lower deliveries and is almost the entire gross profit of Boeing in 2019 pre pandemic year. What this shows that quality culture is basic to manufacturing and it starts with respect for dignity of workers shown through training, education, wages and benefits and a worker centric culture replacing a culture of managers addressing purely financial aspects of the business. Instead of saying lets take care of the financial aspects of the business, saying lets take care of the process of manufacturing  so that a good process centred on workers on their own motivation taking responsibility on the factory floor that will produce good financial results for the company as a whole.   ...

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The Boeing Dreamliner is a big advance from all other airplanes both in terms of fuel efficiency and technology. The Dreamliner is expected to be 20% cheaper to operate than other jets currently in operation. It seats 210 to 290 people and can handle the longer routes such as New York to Tokyo better than existing aircraft.

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Delays in delivery of the new Dreamliner leads to intricate negotiations which may lead to buyers getting better purchase price, instalment payments. The Dreamliner has suffered several delays that have put it 2 years behind schedule.

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Boeing faces a deep crisis after the failures in the 737 Max and hundreds of aircraft not delivered to customers. Profits are cut by half in this crisis.

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The engineering changes in the design of the 787 Boeing Dreamliner provide an experience in humidity levels, altitude levels, turbulence, and roominess that is not dramaically different but enough to provide a noticeably better experience. Nobumi Matsuda, who runs an eye clinic in Japan and is studying the eye health of pilots, says he expected more, that humidity levels were not enough. Boeing used the construction of the body of the jet using super strong plastics instead of aluminium, to create a small increase in humidity levels. The humidity level inside the Dreamlier is 10-15% compared to 4-7% in other airplanes. By pressurizing the cabin to lower altitudes there is a 6% increase in oxygen absorbed at the 6000 feet level at which it is set than the 8000 feet level, according to Boeing. Michael Grepo, a computer systems expert taking the Tokyo to Frankfurt flight on ANA, says he experienced an improvement in breathing, dryness of the nose and contact lens, but it was not a huge difference. Thorsten Hoffmann, a German sales executive says he did not notice till he got off the flight, when he realized that he felt good, had slept better. Othe changes are big overhead bins. The large windows are supposed to reduce motion sickness and provide great views on takeoff and landing. Boeing says "while it can be argued that the passenger comfort improvements are incremetal, the combination of so many improvements in one airplane is revolutionary in our opinion." At the customer level these are proving less revolutinary and more of a subtle type that add up to a noticeable improvement. Boeing now has on its hands a remarkable sales success, with 870 Dreamliners ordered by 59 of the world's airlines. A big factor from the airlines point of view is high fuel prices. The 787 is 20% more fuel efficient than the comparable size Boeing 767....

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How the global supplier system, while it spreads some of the financial risk, also creates a number of problems Boeing has to resolve. The advanced nature of the plane using composite materials instead of aluminium, and many other new aspects, all make it necessary for careful attention to details and coordination of different partners roles. Things like training of workers who do the work at new plants put up by suppliers like Vought Aircraft of Dallas and Alenia Aeronautica of Italy, in this case in Charleston, S.C., were inadequate. This had the effect of compounding problems Boeing already has in shortage of aluminium and titanium fasteners to assemble the different parts. Based on this report the unveiling of the Dreamliner on July 8, before 15,000 invited guests, was probably a bad idea, as much of the plane under the shiny covers was a mess. idea

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Boeing reaches a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers in Nov. 2011. Under the agreement Boeing will build the 737 MAX, a retooled version, at a union plant in Renton, Washington. In exchange the union will not oppose Boeing's use of a new nonunion plant in South Carolina for assembling some 787 Dreamliners. The agreement when approved by union vote would extend the contract for 4 years till 2016. Advantages to Boeing lie in labor peace during a period when Boeing plans to increase production by about one third, over 2012-2014, to meet aircraft orders of $332 billion. Existing 737 production has been moved up to 35 a month, going up to 42 a month, accelerating the pace significantly, making it important for both sides to avoid labor discord. The Max first delivery is planned for 2017. In the current unemployment crisis there was considerable incentive on both sides to resolve the issue quickly, after the union had raised the issue with the National Labor Relations Board. It provides Boeing with flexibility in assembling some of the 787's in S. Carolina along with assurance for union commitment to productivity, and gives the union assurances that Boeing will continue to maintain significant maufacturing presence in the Washington area, a win-win for both sides. The NLRB appeal will be dropped by the union....

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Boeing takes a six month extension on the 787 dreamliner, competitor Airbus's A350 designed to compete with it won't be ready till 2013. Boeing has $100 billion in orders for the Dreamliner which uses new composite materials, more efficient engines, bigger windows and better humidity and air quality.

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United Airlines has asked Airbus and Boeing to come up with competing bids for 150 new jetliners, an order worth an estimated $10 billion. After the 9/11 bombings, with the slowdown in air travel and the steep losses airlines suffered from high oil prices, its the overseas airlines that made the big orders. The domestic airlines were content to work with an aging fleet. United's move at this time may be calculated to take advantage of the improving credit situation, and the lower prices of steel and other commodities to get better pricing from manufacturers. The thrust of the order is to replace 11 of United's wide body fleet, the Boeing 747,757,767,and 777 model fleet. The average of these planes is 747-13 years, 777- 10 years, 767- 14 years, 757-17 years. See graph. The most crucual conditions United is looking for are financing arranged by the manufacturer that does not use United's cash, and the flexibility to change the order later if market conditions change. United sees this as amove to get good pricing and financing terms now so that when the planes are delvered over time, spread out over several years, the planes would come in just when air travel is picking up with an economic recovery. If it does not get the terms it wants, United may wait. It has already retired half of its oldest planes, the Boeing 737's, with the remaining half due to be replaced by end of 2009. United's competitor American Airlines, announced in fall 2008, that it wants to order upto 100 Boeing jetliners if it can get new agreements with its pilots union. In spring 2009 American speeded up deliveries of 737-800's to replace some of its old MD-80's. Newer aircraft mean better fuel efficiency, and ways to cover routes that are not possible with older aircraft....