Boeing Faces Worst Management Crisis, Aircraft Deliveries Plummet 35% Last Year

Lowest Level Since the COVID-19 Pandemic

Reuters Yonhap News

In recent years, the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing, which is facing its worst crisis due to a series of accidents involving the 737 series aircraft, saw its commercial aircraft deliveries last year drop to the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the 14th (local time), Boeing announced that it delivered 348 commercial aircraft last year. This represents a 35% decrease compared to 528 units in 2023 and is the lowest delivery volume since 340 units in 2021.

Meanwhile, European competitor Airbus delivered 766 commercial aircraft last year, more than double Boeing's passenger aircraft deliveries. This is the highest delivery volume since 2019.

Boeing's annual order volume plummeted from 1,456 in 2023 to 567 last year. After accounting standard adjustments, Boeing's net orders last year were recorded at 317 units, less than half of Airbus's 826 units. Boeing has been trailing Airbus for six consecutive years.

Boeing has been pushed into a management crisis in recent years due to accidents involving its 737 series aircraft. The 737 Max 8 passenger planes crashed consecutively in 2018 and 2019, resulting in a total of 346 deaths and severely damaging trust. Earlier last year, a 737 Max 9 passenger plane developed a fuselage hole during flight, leading to intense investigations by U.S. authorities throughout the year. Although the exact cause of the accident has not been identified, there is analysis that dark clouds may loom over Boeing's future, given that the aircraft model involved in the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster at Muan International Airport at the end of last year was also a Boeing 737-800.

Additionally, Boeing was further shaken as factory workers dissatisfied with wages and working conditions went on strike for nearly two months. The strike, involving about 35,000 workers, ended last November under conditions that included a 38% wage increase over four years.

Bloomberg reported, "Although Boeing restarted the 737 Max production line last month, the new 737 Max model released last month at the Renton plant in Washington state amounted to only nine units," adding, "This shows that Boeing is still struggling to increase production to meet pre-crisis expectations." According to industry sources, Boeing's losses since 2019 are estimated to exceed $30 billion (approximately 44 trillion KRW).

Boeing's stock price, which fell 35% last year, has dropped another 6% this year. It is now down 60% compared to its peak in March 2019. Boeing is scheduled to announce its fourth-quarter and annual results for last year on the 28th.