Boeing's new spaceship has been cleared for its first-ever crewed liftoff.
Boeing's problems can't stop, won't stop (March 2024)
www.morningbrew.com
... Boeing has tapered its production of 737 planes while it gets its stuff together, leaving airlines with fewer aircraft.
Even with a slew of safety incidents that make Snakes on a Plane look tolerable and a host of airlines cutting capacity due to a lack of planes, the worst of Boeing's problems may still be ahead of it. ...
Southwest got the worst of it: The airline notorious for not being bookable on Google Flights exclusively flies Boeing 737 planes. Southwest said it planned to receive 58 of Boeing's 737 Max 8 planes but now expects just 46, and won't get any of the long-awaited Max 7 jets. As a result, it cut flight capacity plans and changed its financial outlook for the year.
Other shake-ups in the industry include ... United Airlines putting a pause on hiring pilots, Alaska Airlines saying its capacity for the year is in flux, and Ryanair lowering its passenger forecast"all because Boeing can't deliver planes. It's good news for Airbus, Boeing's biggest rival, which delivered 49 planes in February compared to Boeing's 27. ...
Southwest Airlines is ending service at four airports and laying off 2,000 employees
nashvillenow.us
... American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both lost money in the first quarter, and Southwest said Thursday it will curtail hiring and close operations at four airports.[emphasis mine]
Southwest expects to end this year with 2,000 fewer employees than at the beginning of the year.
Airlines are facing higher labor costs and delays in getting new planes from Boeing, limiting their ability to add more flights at a time of high travel demand. ...
... Boeing's new spaceship has been cleared for its first-ever crewed liftoff. ...
Boeing says it will cut SLS workforce "due to external factors"
arstechnica.com
... On Thursday senior Boeing officials leading the Space Launch System program, including David Dutcher and Steve Snell, convened an all-hands meeting for the more than 1,000 employees who work on the rocket.
According to two people familiar with the meeting, the officials announced that there would be a significant number of layoffs and reassignments of people working on the program. They offered a handful of reasons for the cuts, including the fact that timelines for NASA's Artemis lunar missions that will use the SLS rocket are slipping to the right.
Later on Thursday, in a statement provided to Ars, a Boeing spokesperson confirmed the cuts: "Due to external factors unrelated to our program performance, Boeing is reviewing and adjusting current staffing levels on the Space Launch System program." ...
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#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-04-26 12:41 AM
My first goal for Boeing ... produce a plane that does not fall apart in mid-air. In other words, get your act together.
After Boeing has been able to accomplish that, then I will entertain their efforts into other areas.
Most aircraft by Boeing have a useful lifetime span above 25-30 years, so the engineering of the planes is top notch. Maintenance by some of the airlines' crews, on the other hand, may leave to be desired.
Ref: www.aviationfile.com - How Long Does a Commercial Aircraft Last?
Overwhelming majority of these crews are unionized, and recently demanded and got raises and shorter weekly work time - more pay for less work - so if you want to look for reasons of problems, maybe should start there.
But don't let the opinions, based on bad publicity, stand in the way of the facts, e.g.,:
fortune.com - Flight attendants at Southwest Airlines seal deal for 22% pay hikes next month
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The union said the deal gives Southwest crews the shortest on-duty day and highest pay in the industry, compensation during disruptions like the Southwest meltdown in December 2022... Workers will also split $364 million in ratification bonuses, according to the union. ...
Pilot unions at Delta, United, American and Southwest approved contracts last year that raised pay by more than one-third over several years...
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Ticket prices will rise accordingly which will be blamed on "greedflation" and obviously, "record profits" - when they will have those, losses and massive layoffs during recessions or slowdowns will be blamed on management.
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#23 | Posted by CutiePie at 2024-04-27 06:28 PM
Ticket prices will rise accordingly which will be blamed on "greedflation" and obviously, "record profits" - when they will have those, losses and massive layoffs during recessions or slowdowns will be blamed on management.
Follow-up: And here it is, the inevitable consequences of the unions' (aka Big Labor) "wins":
|------- Southwest Airlines said it will slash 2,000 jobs and close operations at four airports after warning of higher costs and slower revenue growth. The Dallas-based airline said it will receive 20 aircraft this year from Boeing, down from 46 estimated in March, as the regulators have put a cap on production of the 737 MAX after a safety crisis sparked by a January midair cabin panel blowout on an Alaska Air flight.
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www.cnbc.com - Open seating no more? Southwest CEO says airline is weighing cabin changes
|------- Southwest Airlines is considering changes to its single-class, open-seating cabins to drive up revenue... a shift that would be among the largest in the airline's history. ... The airline has focused on keeping its product simple and user-friendly for years, aiming to keep its own costs and complexity to a minimum.
Analysts have repeatedly asked Southwest about opportunities for premium seating or additional fees.
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What Wall Street couldn't force them to do, the Big Labor did. "Winning!"
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