767 Deal Just Looks 'Too Good'
When Boeing started facing rapidly-downramping airliner
deliveries, and its 747X was stillborn, and the Sonic Cruiser
didn't get off the table, the company had a look at potential
markets and found that the Air Force was still flying 707s, er,
KC-135s.
They're old, although their airframes don't have a lot of time
or cycles on them. Corrosion and spare parts could be a factor.
So, the company must have asked the USAF to have a closer look
at the fleet: the priority of replacing the 40-year-old machines
suddenly shot up from nowhere to a top priority. Additionally, the
KC-135 fleet, the AF discovered, was subject to a 'fleet-grounding
event,' a scenario where a heretofore-undiscovered problem in the
well-proven machines would suddenly and catastrophically ground
most of the refuelers. [The USAF has a few DC-10-based tankers, too
--ed.]
Boeing had a great deal in the works, as luck would have it: a
lease deal that would allow the Air Force to get its 767-based
tankers aloft a year or two quicker than a purchase would.
Just as if you were buying a car, though, it's a good idea to
check to see if the lease is the more-expensive option. By all
counts, it was. Those counts, though, varied quite a bit, as to
just how much extra the taxpayers would be sending to Boeing under
the lease agreement. ANN has reported on OMB reports that showed
well over a billion dollars worth of differences...
Reuters now reports that Boeing may face congressional
subpoenas, so that Senator John McCain, among others, can get a
better look at just what machinations may have gone on between
Boeing and the Air Force. The report says, "McCain has also asked
Air Force Secretary James Roche to hand over all records of his
dealings on the plan, but Roche had not complied as yet, a McCain
aide said. Pentagon officials say they will not provide emails to
McCain's committee because they are 'pre-decisional.'"
Allegations of impropriety have already surfaced, especially
regarding a former USAF purchasing official who was recently hired
by Boeing. She may have shared Airbus's bidding information with
Boeing, so the buzz goes. A retired admiral and a retired AF
general, lobbyists for Boeing, are also coming under increased
scrutiny.
The subpoenas, if not quashed by Attorney General John Ashcroft,
may shed additional light on whatever shenanigans might have been
going on. Stay tuned.