Aug 15 (Reuters) – United Airlines (UAL.O), opens new tab CEO Scott Kirby on Thursday predicted Boeing’s (BA.N), opens new tab recovery to be “faster than most expect” after meeting with the planemaker’s new top boss, Kelly Ortberg.
“I was not only encouraged by what I heard, but I also came away with a renewed confidence that Boeing is on the right path,” Kirby said in a LinkedIn, opens new tab post after a lunch meeting with Ortberg.
United, a prominent customer of Boeing, was reported to be furious with the planemaker after the U.S. aviation regulator temporarily grounded over 170 737 MAX 9 jets after a mid-air cabin panel blowout in January.
The incident forced Boeing’s former CEO, Dave Calhoun, to apologize to Kirby. The carrier took a $200 million hit in the first quarter from the grounding.
Last month, Boeing named aerospace industry veteran Ortberg as its CEO to turn around the company beset by legal and regulatory problems.
“His engineering background at Rockwell Collins, combined with an instinct to be close to his frontline teams in Seattle, makes for a winning combination,” Kirby said in the post.
… (He) understands the cultural changes needed to turn things around and is committed to listening to his employees and customers.”
During his tenure at aircraft electronics supplier Rockwell Collins, Ortberg oversaw the company’s development programs for the Airbus A350 XWB, Boeing 787 and the Bombardier CSeries.
Ortberg, who previously ran commercial and defense supplier Rockwell Collins and has more than three decades of experience in the aerospace industry, took the reins at Boeing a week ago, spending part of his first day at Boeing’s 737 factory floor in Renton, Washington. Ortberg will be based in Seattle, a shift from previous leaders.
“His engineering background at Rockwell Collins, combined with an instinct to be close to his frontline teams in Seattle, makes for a winning combination,” Kirby wrote on Thursday. “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.”
United and other major customers such as Southwest Airlines have been grappling with delayed jetliners as Boeing tries to recover from its latest safety crisis in the wake of a door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 earlier this year.
No one was seriously injured in the accident — which occurred after bolts that hold the door plug in place weren’t installed before the airline received the plane — but it came after a host of other manufacturing defects on Boeing planes.
“In speaking with our customers and industry partners leading up to today, I can tell you that without exception, everyone wants us to succeed,” Ortberg said in a note to staff on his first day last Thursday. “In many cases, they NEED us to succeed.”