Boeing suspends financial outlook as it focuses on safety

Boeing said on Wednesday that it would not provide a full-year financial forecast, the clearest indication yet that the company is trying to assure customers that it is prioritizing safety amid growing concerns about its popular 737 Max jets. Even as it announced its quarterly earnings, the company chose to concentrate instead on discussing quality control and accountability. Boeing is trying to stem the fallout from an incident less than four weeks ago during which a hole blew open on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 plane shortly after takeoff. “My focus is on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and the actions we are taking as a company to strengthen quality and earn the confidence of our customers, the confidence of our regulators and the flying public,” Boeing’s CE, Dave Calhoun, said on a conference call with Wall Street analysts. “We caused the problem, and we understand that,” Mr. Calhoun added without specifying what Boeing got wrong. “Over these last few weeks, I’ve had tough conversations with our customers, with our regulators, congressional leaders and more. We understand why they are angry, and we will work to earn their confidence.” With federal officials still investigating the Jan. 5 incident, Boeing’s executives had been grappling with how much to emphasize its efforts to improve safety while also reassuring shareholders about its financial performance. Quality concerns have taken on new urgency after news accounts, including a report in The New York Times, that Boeing workers had opened and reinstalled the panel that blew off the plane, known as a door plug.<br/>