On January 31, 2013, I suggested that
Boeing's "business as usual" attitude with regard to the flaming batteries would come back to haunt them.
Boeing plays down 787 woes; net falls 30%.
The company says it is "business as usual." Something tells me they
will regret that "que sera sera" attitude. Oh, by the way, from CNBC
this a.m.: the term for Boeing 787 lithium batteries that start on
fire: "non-passive failures."
So, tonight this story,
Reuters is reporting:
A month after the global fleet of the carbon-composite jets were
grounded as U.S. and Japanese regulators carry out investigations into
overheating batteries, the parked airliners are a stark symbol of
deepening problems this is causing Boeing.
At Paine Field in Everett, Boeing plans to move some of
its other planes around to make room for new 787s coming off its two
production lines, and says it has room to store all the 787s it is
making.
But Boeing is finding it increasingly difficult to
convince Wall Street that its balance sheet is not going to be strained
by the crisis. Until the Dreamliner is cleared to fly again, which could
be several months, Boeing will be starved of delivery payments but
still has to keep producing and maintaining the 787s it is making.
The world's largest planemaker is being hit on a number
of financial fronts, as well as suffering potential damage to its brand
image. It is unable to deliver the five Dreamliners being produced per
month, missing out an about $200 million in final cash payments from
customers every month the 787 is grounded, while it has to pay out
millions of dollars to clean, maintain and insure the parked planes. The
delay may also force Boeing to postpone plans to double production by
the end of this year.
And Boeing engineers, this week, are voting whether to go on strike.
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