Boeing shares rise after bosses announce departure

The chief executive and chairman of Boeing will both stand down this year in the wake of a major safety failure that saw a door plug blow out in midair from one of the aerospace giant’s planes.

David Calhoun is to depart the company at the end of 2024, the company said in a statement, while chairman Larry Kellner will quit following the annual general meeting in May.

On Monday, Boeing also confirmed Stan Deal, the boss of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, was leaving “effective immediately”. Boeing’s shares rose following the announcement.

The management clear-out underlines the continuing seriousness of the safety crisis for Boeing, following an incident involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane in January.

At 16,000ft, about nine minutes into an Alaska Airlines flight that took off from Portland, Oregon, pilots were forced to turn around and make an emergency landing after a door plug blew out – depressurising the cabin and leaving a hole in the side of the aircraft.

It later emerged that a 15-year-old boy and his mother had been sitting next to where the blowout occurred and that the boy’s shirt, as well as his seat’s headrest, had been sucked out of the hole while she clung on to him.

In the wake of the incident – thought to have been caused by missing bolts in the door panel – Boeing has been scrambling to reassure customers, regulators and air travellers over its safety record.

Several customers have been publicly critical of the company, with the boss of Alaska Airlines saying he was “angry” and the chief executive of United Airlines describing the blowout as “the straw that broke the camel’s back for us”.

Mr Calhoun has previously admitted that the incident left company bosses “shaken to the bone” and has vowed to put a renewed focus on safety in the aftermath.

On Monday, Boeing’s statement to shareholders gave no reason for his departure but said Mr Calhoun had taken the decision himself.

It added that Mr Calhoun would stay until the end of the year to “complete the critical work underway to stabilise and position the company for the future”.

In a letter to employees, he said it had been “the greatest privilege” to run the company.

Mr Calhoun told employees: “The eyes of the world are on us, and I know that we will come through this moment a better company.”

Meanwhile Mr Kellner, who has served on the Boeing board for 13 years and been chairman since 2019, claimed it was “the right time for a transition to my successor”.

He is set to be replaced as chairman by Steve Mollenkopf, who will also lead the search to find Mr Calhoun’s successor.

Mr Mollenkopf, who was previously chief executive of chip giant Qualcomm, said: “I am fully confident in this company and its leadership and together we are committed to taking the right actions to strengthen safety and quality, and to meet the needs of our customers.”

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary, who has been a vocal critic of Boeing in recent months, said he welcomed “these much-needed management changes”.

After the January panel blowout, airline executives at first expressed support for Mr Calhoun but that backing has ebbed following production delays and quality problems uncovered by regulators at the company’s manufacturing hub in Seattle. 

A group of US airline chiefs later reportedly sought meetings with Boeing directors – without Mr Calhoun – to express their frustration over the Alaska Airlines accident and the way it had been handled by management.

Following Monday’s announcement, shares in Boeing rose by 1.5pc – although the stock remains nearly 25pc down so far this year.

Analysts said the shake-up may help Boeing change the narrative but that much would depend on who was chosen as the company’s next boss.

Some have suggested Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive and now chief executive of Spirit AeroSystems, as one possible successor to Mr Calhoun.

Mr Shanahan’s “sole priority remains building a culture of safety” at Spirit, a spokesman said Monday.