Apologizes To Customers For Strike Delays, Giving Up Market
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In a speech Friday to
the Cargo Facts Aircraft Symposium in Seattle, Boeing Commercial
Airplane Sales Team leader Scott Carson took the somewhat unusual
step of apologizing to Boeing's customers for several things,
including the "pain" resulting from delivery delays caused by an
ongoing mechanics strike.
While acknowledging that members of the International
Association of Machinists helped Boeing improve its production
efficiency in recent years, Carson (file photo, above) also called
them "some of the best-paid mechanics in the world" who were asking
Boeing for "more than we were willing to give," as reported in the
Seattle Times.
In his speech, Carson also acknowledged mistakes the company
believes it made that allowed Airbus to surpass Boeing for sales
supremacy. "The Boeing Company wasn't lying down," said Carson. "We
just allowed ourselves to step back from our customers too
far."
In the wake of 9/11, Boeing rescheduled over 1,000 airplane
deliveries to ease financial burdens on American carriers suddenly
hit with massive drops in their passenger loads. An unintended
consequence of that action, said Carson, is that the company "lost
contact with a lot of [international] customers."
Those customers,
perhaps feeling slighted by Boeing, then gave their business to
European rival Airbus, aiding that company's efforts to grab the
sales crown from the American manufacturer. Attempts are being made
to rebuild those relationships now, Carson said, resulting in the
high number of international orders seen this year for such
aircraft as the 787 Dreamliner and the 747 Advanced.
According to Carson, the post 9/11 downturn in orders and
deliveries forced Boeing to "recognize that we have a competitor
overseas that has a production system that is more efficient than
our own, and fix it." Boeing soon adopted many of the
lean-production methods of its rival, allowing it to better match
costs with Airbus.
Although the company now has 605 orders on the books for 2005 --
its best total since 1999 -- Boeing has delivered no new airplanes
since the machinist's strike began on September 2. While such a
delay hurts customers as well as Boeing, Carson believes that such
a hard stance against the machinists union is necessary.
"We believe economically it is important to go through this for
the industry," he said.
Even considering the Boeing's past missteps and its current
labor issues, one thing is clear: Carson does not intend for Boeing
to be following Airbus for much longer.
"When you're number two," Carson said, "it's not a good place to
wake up to."