New York – At 5 p.m. PT on January 5, 2024, Boeing seemed like a company on the upswing, but minutes later, a near-tragedy set off a full year of problems.
Just days before, an Alaska Airlines flight 1282 had a door plug blow out, causing a gaping hole in the fuselage, leaving phones and clothing shredded and oxygen masks dropping. Fortunately, the incident didn’t result in serious injuries. However, this could have been far worse. The incident led to federal investigations, including one by the National Transportation Safety Board, which found that the plane had left the Boeing factory two months earlier without the required four bolts to hold the door plug in place.
The incident marked the beginning of a series of challenges for Boeing, which has now had six straight years of serious problems. The company’s 737 Max model, which was grounded for 20 months following two fatal crashes, is still not fully back in service. In addition, a new model, the 737 Max 7 and 10, is facing potential delays, and the 777X widebody is also experiencing setbacks.
Worse still, a recent crash in South Korea, which killed 179 people, has raised concerns about the company’s safety record. Boeing’s stock has plummeted by about a third in 2024, with the company warning investors of continuing losses through 2025. It is also on the verge of having its credit rating downgraded to junk for the first time in its history and could be removed from the Dow Jones industrial average, where it has been listed since 1937.
The company’s struggles have been marked by a range of issues, including the loss of a traditional pension plan for union workers and a prolonged strike that halted production of the 737 Max and freighter aircraft. Boeing has also faced numerous federal investigations, including one by the Department of Justice. The company has also had to deal with the failure of its Starliner spacecraft, which was expected to carry astronauts to the International Space Station but was forced to return to Earth without its crew.
In October 2024, Boeing reported its worst financial quarter in years, with a core operating loss of $6 billion. The company is expected to report its biggest annual loss since 2020. With the 737 Max and freighter production not expected to resume until early 2025, the company is bracing itself for another difficult year ahead.
