Miloch wrote in
:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/29/inves...eting/index.ht
ml

New York (CNN Business) — Boeing executives faced shareholders' tough
questions about the 737 Max crisis at the company's annual meeting in
Chicago on Monday.

Shareholders had a lot to gripe about. The company's stock has lost
about 10% of its value since the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian
Airlines jet, the second fatal crash of the company's bestselling
plane. A Lion Air 737 Max crashed under similar circumstances in
October. The second crash prompted a worldwide grounding of the 737
Max last month.

Boeing last week announced earnings fell 21% in the first quarter
because of the crisis. Boeing suspended its share repurchase plans to
conserve cash.

CEO Dennis Muilenburg started his remarks Monday with a moment of
silence for the 346 people killed in the two crashes, according to his
prepared remarks reviewed by CNN Business. He insisted that Boeing
makes safety its top priority, and he said the company has been doing
everything it can to find a solution. And he vowed the 737 Max will
become the safest plane in the air once Boeing develops a fix to the
automatic safety feature that is the focus of the two crash
investigations.

"These enduring values are at the core of everything we do,"
Muilenburg said in his prepared remarks. "Yet, we know we can always
be better. We have a responsibility to design, build and support the
safest airplanes in the sky. The recent accidents have only
intensified our dedication to it."

Shareholders voted on one proposal that would have separated the
positions of chairman and CEO, both of which are now held by
Muilenburg. A preliminary vote on that measure was supported by only
34% of the shares — better than the amount of support a similar
measure received last year, but still far short of a majority.

The resolution predated the current 737 Max crisis. Two shareholder
advisory firms recommended votes in favor of the resolution this time.

"Shareholders would benefit from the most robust form of independent
oversight to ensure that the company's management is able to regain
the confidence of regulators, customers and other key stakeholders,"
said one of those services, ISS, in a note urging support for the
measure.

Muilenburg also said a preliminary vote showed that 92% of the shares
supported the company's executive compensation package.

A small group of protestors braved pouring rain and cold outside the
annual meeting. Most held large photos of some of the people killed on
the two flights. One held signs reading "Boeing's arrogance kills,"
and "Prosecute Boeing & execs for manslaughter."

Questions remain as to whether Boeing (BA) did everything it could to
ensure the planes were as safe as possible. For example, four Boeing
employees called an Federal Aviation Administration whistleblower
hotline to report damage to the wiring of sensors, CNN has reported.
And Boeing made airlines pay extra if they wanted an alert that lets
pilots know if two sensors are contradicting each other. After the
crashes, the company said in congressional testimony it would make
that feature standard on planes in the future.

Muilenburg defended that earlier decision to include the alert as an
option in his prepared remarks.

"We don't make safety features optional," he said. "Every one of our
airplanes includes all of the safety features necessary for safe
flight."

Muilenburg said again that the company is getting close to a software
fix. It has completed 146 flights of the 737 Max, totaling roughly 246
hours of air time with the updated software. He said he personally has
flown on two of those test flights.

And in response to a shareholder's question, Muilenburg said Boeing
executives would be on some of the early commercial flights once the
planes return to service.

"It will include me and many others," he said. "This is a really
important part in showing our confidence in our product. Our Boeing
employees are very supportive of doing that."

Muilenburg faced several questions from shareholders about how the
problem with the 737 Max was able to happen.

"You seem to have rushed the 737 [Max] into production and lost sight
of some basic fail-safe things that go on," said one shareholder. "It
never should have happened that you had one easily damaged sensor
control a new, critically designed safety feature."

Muilenburg insisted that the 737 Max was not rushed. He said the plane
took six years to develop and that the equipment had been deemed safe.

"I want to assure you safety is our top priority," Muilenburg said.
"That said, we can always improve."

The safety feature forces down the plane's nose if a sensor detects it
is climbing too fast and at risk of a stall. Apparently the sensor on
the two flights gave a false reading. Two weeks after the Ethiopian
crash, Boeing announced the software fix would add data from a second
sensor that measures the horizontal tilt of the plane.


I sm surprized top managers were not hauled
out of the meeting and hanged from the nearest lamp
poles. The worst PR blunder in the company's history,
airlines all over the world cancelling sales orders,
no one is flying their product, and Boeing cannot
even explain the problem much less post a deadline
for fixing it.

The stockholders at Airbus must be overjoyed.