Boeing shareholder meeting turns tense amid 737 Max crisis

[Miloch]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/investing/boeing-annual-meeting/index.html

New York (CNN Business) — Boeing executives faced shareholders' tough questions
about the 737 Max crisis at the company's annual meeting in Chicago on Monday.

Shareholders had a lot to gripe about. The company's stock has lost about 10% of
its value since the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet, the second
fatal crash of the company's bestselling plane. A Lion Air 737 Max crashed under
similar circumstances in October. The second crash prompted a worldwide
grounding of the 737 Max last month.

Boeing last week announced earnings fell 21% in the first quarter because of the
crisis. Boeing suspended its share repurchase plans to conserve cash.

CEO Dennis Muilenburg started his remarks Monday with a moment of silence for
the 346 people killed in the two crashes, according to his prepared remarks
reviewed by CNN Business. He insisted that Boeing makes safety its top priority,
and he said the company has been doing everything it can to find a solution. And
he vowed the 737 Max will become the safest plane in the air once Boeing
develops a fix to the automatic safety feature that is the focus of the two
crash investigations.

"These enduring values are at the core of everything we do," Muilenburg said in
his prepared remarks. "Yet, we know we can always be better. We have a
responsibility to design, build and support the safest airplanes in the sky. The
recent accidents have only intensified our dedication to it."

Shareholders voted on one proposal that would have separated the positions of
chairman and CEO, both of which are now held by Muilenburg. A preliminary vote
on that measure was supported by only 34% of the shares — better than the amount
of support a similar measure received last year, but still far short of a
majority.

The resolution predated the current 737 Max crisis. Two shareholder advisory
firms recommended votes in favor of the resolution this time.

"Shareholders would benefit from the most robust form of independent oversight
to ensure that the company's management is able to regain the confidence of
regulators, customers and other key stakeholders," said one of those services,
ISS, in a note urging support for the measure.

Muilenburg also said a preliminary vote showed that 92% of the shares supported
the company's executive compensation package.

A small group of protestors braved pouring rain and cold outside the annual
meeting. Most held large photos of some of the people killed on the two flights.
One held signs reading "Boeing's arrogance kills," and "Prosecute Boeing & execs
for manslaughter."

Questions remain as to whether Boeing (BA) did everything it could to ensure the
planes were as safe as possible. For example, four Boeing employees called an
Federal Aviation Administration whistleblower hotline to report damage to the
wiring of sensors, CNN has reported. And Boeing made airlines pay extra if they
wanted an alert that lets pilots know if two sensors are contradicting each
other. After the crashes, the company said in congressional testimony it would
make that feature standard on planes in the future.

Muilenburg defended that earlier decision to include the alert as an option in
his prepared remarks.

"We don't make safety features optional," he said. "Every one of our airplanes
includes all of the safety features necessary for safe flight."

Muilenburg said again that the company is getting close to a software fix. It
has completed 146 flights of the 737 Max, totaling roughly 246 hours of air time
with the updated software. He said he personally has flown on two of those test
flights.

And in response to a shareholder's question, Muilenburg said Boeing executives
would be on some of the early commercial flights once the planes return to
service.

"It will include me and many others," he said. "This is a really important part
in showing our confidence in our product. Our Boeing employees are very
supportive of doing that."

Muilenburg faced several questions from shareholders about how the problem with
the 737 Max was able to happen.

"You seem to have rushed the 737 [Max] into production and lost sight of some
basic fail-safe things that go on," said one shareholder. "It never should have
happened that you had one easily damaged sensor control a new, critically
designed safety feature."

Muilenburg insisted that the 737 Max was not rushed. He said the plane took six
years to develop and that the equipment had been deemed safe.

"I want to assure you safety is our top priority," Muilenburg said. "That said,
we can always improve."

The safety feature forces down the plane's nose if a sensor detects it is
climbing too fast and at risk of a stall. Apparently the sensor on the two
flights gave a false reading. Two weeks after the Ethiopian crash, Boeing
announced the software fix would add data from a second sensor that measures the
horizontal tilt of the plane.





*

[Mitchell Holman[_9_]]

Miloch > wrote in
:

> https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/investing/boeing-annual-meeting/index.ht
> ml
>
> New York (CNN Business) — Boeing executives faced shareholders' tough
> questions about the 737 Max crisis at the company's annual meeting in
> Chicago on Monday.
>
> Shareholders had a lot to gripe about. The company's stock has lost
> about 10% of its value since the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian
> Airlines jet, the second fatal crash of the company's bestselling
> plane. A Lion Air 737 Max crashed under similar circumstances in
> October. The second crash prompted a worldwide grounding of the 737
> Max last month.
>
> Boeing last week announced earnings fell 21% in the first quarter
> because of the crisis. Boeing suspended its share repurchase plans to
> conserve cash.
>
> CEO Dennis Muilenburg started his remarks Monday with a moment of
> silence for the 346 people killed in the two crashes, according to his
> prepared remarks reviewed by CNN Business. He insisted that Boeing
> makes safety its top priority, and he said the company has been doing
> everything it can to find a solution. And he vowed the 737 Max will
> become the safest plane in the air once Boeing develops a fix to the
> automatic safety feature that is the focus of the two crash
> investigations.
>
> "These enduring values are at the core of everything we do,"
> Muilenburg said in his prepared remarks. "Yet, we know we can always
> be better. We have a responsibility to design, build and support the
> safest airplanes in the sky. The recent accidents have only
> intensified our dedication to it."
>
> Shareholders voted on one proposal that would have separated the
> positions of chairman and CEO, both of which are now held by
> Muilenburg. A preliminary vote on that measure was supported by only
> 34% of the shares — better than the amount of support a similar
> measure received last year, but still far short of a majority.
>
> The resolution predated the current 737 Max crisis. Two shareholder
> advisory firms recommended votes in favor of the resolution this time.
>
> "Shareholders would benefit from the most robust form of independent
> oversight to ensure that the company's management is able to regain
> the confidence of regulators, customers and other key stakeholders,"
> said one of those services, ISS, in a note urging support for the
> measure.
>
> Muilenburg also said a preliminary vote showed that 92% of the shares
> supported the company's executive compensation package.
>
> A small group of protestors braved pouring rain and cold outside the
> annual meeting. Most held large photos of some of the people killed on
> the two flights. One held signs reading "Boeing's arrogance kills,"
> and "Prosecute Boeing & execs for manslaughter."
>
> Questions remain as to whether Boeing (BA) did everything it could to
> ensure the planes were as safe as possible. For example, four Boeing
> employees called an Federal Aviation Administration whistleblower
> hotline to report damage to the wiring of sensors, CNN has reported.
> And Boeing made airlines pay extra if they wanted an alert that lets
> pilots know if two sensors are contradicting each other. After the
> crashes, the company said in congressional testimony it would make
> that feature standard on planes in the future.
>
> Muilenburg defended that earlier decision to include the alert as an
> option in his prepared remarks.
>
> "We don't make safety features optional," he said. "Every one of our
> airplanes includes all of the safety features necessary for safe
> flight."
>
> Muilenburg said again that the company is getting close to a software
> fix. It has completed 146 flights of the 737 Max, totaling roughly 246
> hours of air time with the updated software. He said he personally has
> flown on two of those test flights.
>
> And in response to a shareholder's question, Muilenburg said Boeing
> executives would be on some of the early commercial flights once the
> planes return to service.
>
> "It will include me and many others," he said. "This is a really
> important part in showing our confidence in our product. Our Boeing
> employees are very supportive of doing that."
>
> Muilenburg faced several questions from shareholders about how the
> problem with the 737 Max was able to happen.
>
> "You seem to have rushed the 737 [Max] into production and lost sight
> of some basic fail-safe things that go on," said one shareholder. "It
> never should have happened that you had one easily damaged sensor
> control a new, critically designed safety feature."
>
> Muilenburg insisted that the 737 Max was not rushed. He said the plane
> took six years to develop and that the equipment had been deemed safe.
>
> "I want to assure you safety is our top priority," Muilenburg said.
> "That said, we can always improve."
>
> The safety feature forces down the plane's nose if a sensor detects it
> is climbing too fast and at risk of a stall. Apparently the sensor on
> the two flights gave a false reading. Two weeks after the Ethiopian
> crash, Boeing announced the software fix would add data from a second
> sensor that measures the horizontal tilt of the plane.


I sm surprized top managers were not hauled
out of the meeting and hanged from the nearest lamp
poles. The worst PR blunder in the company's history,
airlines all over the world cancelling sales orders,
no one is flying their product, and Boeing cannot
even explain the problem much less post a deadline
for fixing it.

The stockholders at Airbus must be overjoyed.

[Miloch]

In article >, Mitchell Holman
says...
>
>Miloch > wrote in
:
>
>> https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/investing/boeing-annual-meeting/index.ht
>> ml
>>
>> New York (CNN Business) — Boeing executives faced shareholders' tough
>> questions about the 737 Max crisis at the company's annual meeting in
>> Chicago on Monday.
>>
>> Shareholders had a lot to gripe about. The company's stock has lost
>> about 10% of its value since the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian
>> Airlines jet, the second fatal crash of the company's bestselling
>> plane. A Lion Air 737 Max crashed under similar circumstances in
>> October. The second crash prompted a worldwide grounding of the 737
>> Max last month.
>>
>> The safety feature forces down the plane's nose if a sensor detects it
>> is climbing too fast and at risk of a stall. Apparently the sensor on
>> the two flights gave a false reading. Two weeks after the Ethiopian
>> crash, Boeing announced the software fix would add data from a second
>> sensor that measures the horizontal tilt of the plane.
>
>
> I sm surprized top managers were not hauled
>out of the meeting and hanged from the nearest lamp
>poles. The worst PR blunder in the company's history,
>airlines all over the world cancelling sales orders,
>no one is flying their product, and Boeing cannot
>even explain the problem much less post a deadline
>for fixing it.
>
> The stockholders at Airbus must be overjoyed.
>
>

Airbus has nothing to brag about...

https://simpleflying.com/was-the-a380-programme-profitable/

....Overall

The A380 has been a popular aircraft among aviation enthusiasts and passengers
alike. Even though Airbus will end the program in 2021, we will most likely see
the aircraft for years to come.

Airbus admitted that it was probably ten years too late when it introduced the
A380. Some people say that the project was doomed to fail from the beginning.
Additionally, it looks like Airbus never even came close to making a profit with
the airplane.




*

[Miloch]

In article >, DAN says...
>
>Mitchell Holman wrote:
>
>> I sm surprized top managers were not hauled
>>out of the meeting and hanged from the nearest lamp
>>poles. The worst PR blunder in the company's history,
>>airlines all over the world cancelling sales orders,
>>no one is flying their product, and Boeing cannot
>>even explain the problem much less post a deadline
>>for fixing it.
>
>Well, IMO they should not even be walking the streets free.
>They should be in the dock answering why they let their greed kill people.
>
>That is, of course, if the USan government wasn't in bed with Business.
>Fat chance...

It's a relationship Eisenhower called the "military industrial complex"...

https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942244/ikes-warning-of-military-expansion-50-years-later

On Jan. 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave the nation a dire warning
about what he described as a threat to democratic government. He called it the
military-industrial complex, a formidable union of defense contractors and the
armed forces.

Eisenhower, a retired five-star Army general, the man who led the allies on
D-Day, made the remarks in his farewell speech from the White House.

As NPR's Tom Bowman tells Morning Edition co-host Renee Montagne, Eisenhower
used the speech to warn about "the immense military establishment" that had
joined with "a large arms industry."

Here's an excerpt:

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of
unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial
complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and
will persist."

Since then, the phrase has become a rallying cry for opponents of military
expansion.

Eisenhower gave the address after completing two terms in office; it was just
days before the new president, John F. Kennedy, would be sworn in.

Eisenhower was worried about the costs of an arms race with the Soviet Union,
and the resources it would take from other areas -- such as building hospitals
and schools.

Bowman says that in the speech, Eisenhower also spoke as someone who had seen
the horror and lingering sadness of war, saying that "we must learn how to
compose differences not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose."


*

[Mitchell Holman[_9_]]

Miloch > wrote in
:

> In article >, DAN says...
>>
>>Mitchell Holman wrote:
>>
>>> I sm surprized top managers were not hauled
>>>out of the meeting and hanged from the nearest lamp
>>>poles. The worst PR blunder in the company's history,
>>>airlines all over the world cancelling sales orders,
>>>no one is flying their product, and Boeing cannot
>>>even explain the problem much less post a deadline
>>>for fixing it.
>>
>>Well, IMO they should not even be walking the streets free.
>>They should be in the dock answering why they let their greed kill
>>people.
>>
>>That is, of course, if the USan government wasn't in bed with
>>Business. Fat chance...
>
> It's a relationship Eisenhower called the "military industrial
> complex"...
>
> https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942244/ikes-warning-of-military-expan
> sion-50-years-later
>
> On Jan. 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave the nation a dire
> warning about what he described as a threat to democratic government.
> He called it the military-industrial complex, a formidable union of
> defense contractors and the armed forces.
>
> Eisenhower, a retired five-star Army general, the man who led the
> allies on D-Day, made the remarks in his farewell speech from the
> White House.
>
> As NPR's Tom Bowman tells Morning Edition co-host Renee Montagne,
> Eisenhower used the speech to warn about "the immense military
> establishment" that had joined with "a large arms industry."
>
> Here's an excerpt:
>
> "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition
> of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the
> military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of
> misplaced power exists, and will persist."
>
> Since then, the phrase has become a rallying cry for opponents of
> military expansion.
>
> Eisenhower gave the address after completing two terms in office; it
> was just days before the new president, John F. Kennedy, would be
> sworn in.
>
> Eisenhower was worried about the costs of an arms race with the Soviet
> Union, and the resources it would take from other areas -- such as
> building hospitals and schools.
>
> Bowman says that in the speech, Eisenhower also spoke as someone who
> had seen the horror and lingering sadness of war, saying that "we must
> learn how to compose differences not with arms, but with intellect and
> decent purpose."


I miss the days when presidents could face
issues with dignity and calm reasoning with an
eye toward the future of the country in the
succeeding decades.

[Mitchell Holman[_9_]]

Miloch > wrote in
:

> In article >, Mitchell
> Holman says...
>>
>>Miloch > wrote in
:
>>
>>> https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/investing/boeing-annual-meeting/index.
>>> ht ml
>>>
>>> New York (CNN Business) — Boeing executives faced shareholders'
>>> tough questions about the 737 Max crisis at the company's annual
>>> meeting in Chicago on Monday.
>>>
>>> Shareholders had a lot to gripe about. The company's stock has lost
>>> about 10% of its value since the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian
>>> Airlines jet, the second fatal crash of the company's bestselling
>>> plane. A Lion Air 737 Max crashed under similar circumstances in
>>> October. The second crash prompted a worldwide grounding of the 737
>>> Max last month.
>>>
>>> The safety feature forces down the plane's nose if a sensor detects
>>> it is climbing too fast and at risk of a stall. Apparently the
>>> sensor on the two flights gave a false reading. Two weeks after the
>>> Ethiopian crash, Boeing announced the software fix would add data
>>> from a second sensor that measures the horizontal tilt of the plane.
>>
>>
>> I sm surprized top managers were not hauled
>>out of the meeting and hanged from the nearest lamp
>>poles. The worst PR blunder in the company's history,
>>airlines all over the world cancelling sales orders,
>>no one is flying their product, and Boeing cannot
>>even explain the problem much less post a deadline
>>for fixing it.
>>
>> The stockholders at Airbus must be overjoyed.
>>
>>
>
> Airbus has nothing to brag about...
>
> https://simpleflying.com/was-the-a380-programme-profitable/
>
> ...Overall
>
> The A380 has been a popular aircraft among aviation enthusiasts and
> passengers alike. Even though Airbus will end the program in 2021, we
> will most likely see the aircraft for years to come.
>
> Airbus admitted that it was probably ten years too late when it
> introduced the A380. Some people say that the project was doomed to
> fail from the beginning. Additionally, it looks like Airbus never even
> came close to making a profit with the airplane.


The A 380 was safe, it just misjudged the
market for jumbo airplanes, just like the Edsel
misjudged the market for huge sedans.

[Byker]

Mitchell Holman wrote:
>
> I sm surprized

Proofread before you post, Mitchell...