Boeing culture overhaul a 'work in progress': Outgoing US transport secy

By Allyson Versprille 

Departing US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he’s starting to see progress at Boeing Co., while cautioning it will take time to fully address the issues that led to a door-sized panel blowing off one of its planes last January.  

“What we really need to see is a pretty profound culture change that will be ultimately proven out by the results, and that’s results over the long term,” Buttigieg said in an interview on Monday. “That is a work in progress for them.”

 

US aviation safety regulators dramatically stepped up scrutiny of the planemaker during Buttigieg’s last year in office in response to the near-catastrophe. US Federal Aviation Administration officials have increased surprise factory audits and met with company personnel weekly as Boeing carries out a broad plan to improve quality controls inside its factories. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker last week said permanent change at the company will be a multi-year effort. 

 

Boeing last week provided an update on a series of reforms it’s made in the past year, such as increased inspections that have helped reduce defects in 737 fuselages produced by a key supplier. 

 

Oversight of the planemaker will soon pass to President-elect Donald Trump’s administration once he begins his second term in office on Jan. 20. That leaves Boeing in limbo as it awaits key decisions by the agency, such as the long-delayed certification of the 737 Max 7 and Max 10.

 

Trump nominated Fox News contributor and former Wisconsin congressman Sean Duffy to succeed Buttigieg. Trump has yet to name someone for the FAA’s top job, after Whitaker last month said he would step down when Trump takes office.

 

Buttigieg said he’d expect the government will continue to closely monitor the planemaker because aviation safety is a bipartisan issue.

 

“I hope that making sure that Boeing makes the progress they need to make will be just as much of a priority for any other administration as it has been for ours,” he said.

 

Final weeks 

Buttigieg said his department plans to continue doling out billions of dollars in grants for infrastructure projects in the final weeks before Trump’s inauguration. Transportation officials also will discuss ways to cut the time between when a project is announced and its completion, he said. 

 

In addition, the department may announce a few more policy moves, Buttigieg said, though he declined to discuss specifics. 

 

“We really want to make sure we make the most of every day that we’re here,” he said.

 

Buttigieg championed consumer protection issues during his time leading the department, such as new rules to provide automatic refunds to passengers when flights are canceled or significantly delayed.

 

Other efforts that began under his watch will pass to the Trump administration, including probes of airline loyalty programs and Delta Air Lines Inc.’s handling of a technology outage that led to thousands of canceled flights earlier this year.

 

As for his own next chapter, Buttigieg was circumspect about what’s ahead.

 

“All I can say for sure is a few days off and some family time,” he said. “I’m determined not to make any big life decisions too quickly.”