Longer runway, daunting challenges ahead for Boeing CEO

Boeing’s newly prolonged CEO Dave Calhoun will unveil the US planemaker’s results on Wednesday juggling a barrage of technical and financial challenges under the shadow of mounting political tensions between the United States and China. Analysts will be pressing Calhoun for updates on the effective re-grounding of part of the 737 MAX fleet over electrical grounding flaws, just as the US travel market is finally rebounding from the coronavirus pandemic. The grounding issue is expected to drag on longer than Boeing initially indicated, people familiar with the matter say. Boeing is also facing certification challenges on its forthcoming 777X mini-jumbo, and forensic inspections and painstaking repairs to fix defects embedded in dozens of its advanced carbon-composite 787, which halted deliveries from October until last month. One of Boeing’s biggest suppliers, engine maker General Electric, said on Tuesday aviation remained “challenged” and beset by volatility, driving its stock down as much as 4.8%. “Boeing has traded on expectations for vaccine distribution and air traffic recovery, both of which are coming through,” Cowen analyst Cai von Rumohr wrote in a note earlier this month. “But there’s risk of further 787 disruption if international traffic recovery lags, and the pace of the 737 ramp is unclear.”<br/>