How Boeing's Leadership was 'Fired' by its Own Customers

It took 80 days. But for the airline industry, enough was enough.

A revolt by U.S. airline bosses helped topple Boeing's top leadership including CEO Dave Calhoun this week, capping weeks of pressure after the freakish Jan. 5 blowout of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 passenger jet, people familiar with the discussions said.

With the company's major U.S. customers agitating for a boardroom meeting without Calhoun, Boeing's board pre-empted their demands with a major upheaval.

Now, after the shakeup that took out the CEO, chairman and head of Boeing's commercial airplanes business, airlines face prolonged uncertainty over jet supplies and are calling for deeper changes - starting with picking a manufacturing heavyweight as CEO.

"It wouldn't surprise me that people said, 'What exactly is the Boeing strategy to change this, not put a Band-Aid on it,'” former Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu told Reuters.

"There’s a point at which you cannot pretend that everything is fine. And I think this has been the call to action that you probably heard from the airline community.”

Boeing said it had nothing to add to comments from Calhoun, who told employees on Monday that he had been considering stepping down as CEO for some time. He added that the company would "fix what isn't working, and we are going to get our company back on the track towards recovery and stability."

The Jan. 5 incident plunged Boeing into a new crisis five years after the second of two fatal crashes grounded the MAX.

Regulators began curbing Boeing's already lagging production. Airlines strained to adapt their schedules to the ongoing delays that meant fewer planes available for delivery.

Boeing struggled to convince customers it would be able to overcome the heavy scrutiny, particularly following safety board reports that focused on weaknesses in the production chain.

The catalyzing moment was last week, when CEOs of major U.S. MAX customers Southwest, United , Alaska and American demanded to meet the board to express frustration at a lack of progress, sources said.

Boeing Chairman Larry Kellner offered to set up bilateral meetings instead. But over the weekend, Boeing's board pre-empted that action - agreeing to staggered departures of Calhoun, Kellner and planemaking CEO Stan Deal, whose post went to chief operating officer Stephanie Pope. A senior industry source described the shakeup as Boeing management being "fired by its customers."

March 28, 2024