Boeing: Firm burns through nearly $4bn as it reels from Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 blowout incident and multiple safety scares

Boeing has burned through nearly $4bn in the last quarter as it scrambles to reassure regulators, airlines and passengers following the 737 Max 9 jet incident on 5 January. The incident saw a door plug blow out shortly after take off on 5 January, prompting the grounding of this fleet of aircraft and a major spotlight on the safety of Boeing aircraft. 

A Boeing quality engineer, Sam Salehpour, has recently called on Boeing to ground its 787 Dreamliner planes as he says the planes could fall apart and “drop to the ground” mid flight unless the alleged safety problems are addressed. Salehpour spoke to “NBC Nightly News” where he claimed that the 787 planes are unsafe to fly due to assembly flaws. 

The US planemaker has been left reeling by the allegations and safety incidents.  Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s chief executive, and Larry Kellner, chair of its board, announced plans to resign last month. 

According to a regulatory filing on Wednesday (24 April), the firm has burned through $3.93 billion over the first three months of 2024, far more than the $786 million it recorded during the same time last year. Boeing ended the quarter with $7.5 billion in cash and investments in short-term securities, down from $16 billion at the beginning of the quarter. Some of the cash also went to paying off about $4.4 billion in debt.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement: “Our first quarter results reflect the immediate actions we’ve taken to slow down 737 production to drive improvements in quality. We will take the time necessary to strengthen our quality and safety management systems and this work will position us for a stronger and more stable future.”

While the company reported its first quarterly revenue drop in almost two years, its results still  beat expectations on Wall Street. Its cash burn of $3.93bn was lower than the average analyst forecast of $4.49bn.

Before the report, Calhoun said in a letter to employees that Boeing was “in a tough moment”. He said:  “Lower deliveries can be difficult for our customers and for our financials. But safety and quality must and will come above all else.”