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☆ Boeing Expected to Restart Labor Negotiations as It Seeks End to Strike
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | More About Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boeing and its largest union are expected to restart contract negotiations on Tuesday with the help of federal mediators, days after thousands of workers rejected a previous offer and went on strike. The company makes several airplanes, including the 737 Max, its most popular, in two factories outside the city. If the strike lasts for several weeks, analysts estimate that Boeing, which was already in a financially precarious position before the stoppage began, could lose billions of dollars. Workers last week overwhelmingly rejected a tentative contract that Boeing and union officials had negotiated, saying that it fell well short of what the union had initially sought on raises, retirement benefits and other issues. Tuesday’s meeting will take place in Seattle, where small teams of leaders from Boeing and the union will convene with representatives from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a government agency that helps to resolve labor disputes.

Persons: Brian West Organizations: Boeing, Workers, Federal Mediation, Conciliation Service Locations: Seattle

☆ Syphilis is at its highest levels since the 1950s. Here's how experts are trying to fix that.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-08 | by ( Simar Bajaj | Simar Bajaj Is A Marshall Scholar | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Stigmatized Diseases | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +14 min

Soon after, the mother’s syphilis test — given to all women before delivery — came back positive. In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 200,000 syphilis cases — the highest counts since 1950. Spreading the word about syphilisSome public health departments have launched eye-popping awareness campaigns, trying to raise the alarm among both the public and health care providers. Make syphilis testing convenientBeyond greater awareness, access to testing and treatment needs to be quick, easy and convenient, Chokshi said. But permanently bending the syphilis curve will require scaling these efforts nationally and promoting greater coordination between health care and public health.

Persons: Irene Stafford, Stafford, —, It’s, could’ve, they’re, ”, Kenneth Mayer, Mayer, Dave Chokshi, Donna Fox, Fox, ” Fox, “ We’re, “, Lucas, they’ve, we’re, ” Stafford, Chokshi, Jessica Leston, Jessica Leston “ We’re, ” Leston, Trojan Carvajal, Jai Winchell, Winchell, Arlene Seña, it’s, ” Seña, don’t, Seña, that’s, ” Chokshi Organizations: University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Fenway Institute, Common Health Coalition, Health, Lucas County Health Department, Alaska Natives, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, STI, Mobile Care Clinic, Shasta, University of North, Hospital, University of Chicago, U.S, Fenway Health Locations: Houston, U.S, Boston, New York, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, Texas, Alaska, Cass, Minnesota, California, Shasta County, Oregon, Shasta, University of North Carolina, Grady, Atlanta, America

Above the small city of Vinhedo, Brazil, on Friday, a passenger plane was falling from the sky. Residents began filming. Those videos show the horrifying moment when an 89-foot-long plane, carrying 61 people and slowly spinning in circles, plummeted to earth. A moment after the plane disappears from view near a gated community, an enormous black plume of smoke rises from the spot. One video then shows a house on fire, a swimming pool full of debris and a group of men peering over a scene of carnage in a yard: a shredded fuselage, twisted metal and, several yards in front of the cockpit, a body.

Locations: Vinhedo, Brazil

☆ Microsoft Says Delta Was Largely Responsible for Flight Cancellations
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-06 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | More About Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Most carriers bounced back relatively quickly, but Delta struggled for days, ultimately canceling about 5,000 flights over four days, or more than a third of its schedule. Last week, he told employees that he had hired Mr. Boies’s firm, Boies Schiller Flexner, to pursue legal claims against Microsoft and CrowdStrike, which also rebutted Delta’s claims this week. Microsoft repeated that offer over five days, from July 19 to July 23, but was turned down each time, it said. (In its letter, CrowdStrike said Delta had rejected or ignored its offers for help, too.) It also accused Delta of using outdated information technology.

Persons: Ed Bastian, Boies’s, Boies Schiller, Delta’s, Cheffo, Satya Nadella, Bastian, CrowdStrike, Delta Organizations: Microsoft Windows, Delta, Microsoft, IBM Locations: Delta

☆ Boeing Names Kelly Ortberg as Its Chief Executive
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | More About Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Ortberg, known as Kelly, will inherit a long list of difficult tasks. Mr. Ortberg, 64, brings decades of industry experience and an outsider’s perspective to the role. He is a former chief executive of Rockwell Collins, which made electronic systems and other technology for aircraft, including those made by Boeing. A mechanical engineer, Mr. Ortberg began his career at Texas Instruments in 1983. He joined Rockwell in 1987, quickly rising through the ranks, overseeing development programs for the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 planes, and eventually becoming chief executive in 2013.

Persons: Robert K, Ortberg, Kelly, Rockwell Collins, Ortberg’s, Rockwell Organizations: Mr, Boeing, Current, Texas Instruments, Rockwell, Airbus, United Technologies, Raytheon, RTX

☆ Flight Delays and Cancellations Continue Saturday but in Lower Numbers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | Emily Flitter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Airlines made progress toward containing the fallout from a tech outage that disrupted global travel on Friday, though some flight delays and cancellations extended into Saturday. In all, about 3,400 flights to, from and within the United States were canceled on Friday, according to FlightAware, a company that tracks flight information. That made it the worst day of the year for flight cancellations, beating Jan. 15 when airlines besieged by bad winter storms canceled nearly 3,200 flights in the United States. Delays and cancellations on Saturday appeared on track to be much lower than on Friday. Most of the flight cancellations on Saturday were concentrated in the morning and early afternoon, Delta said.

Persons: Jan, Delta Organizations: Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, “ Delta Locations: United States, “

Boeing’s announcement on Sunday that it had agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge as part of a deal with the Justice Department was the culmination of a yearslong crisis involving the company’s 737 Max plane. The agreement may help Boeing put to rest a federal case stemming from two fatal crashes of the 737 Max in 2018 and 2019. Here’s what else to know about Boeing’s deal with federal prosecutors and other challenges the company is dealing with. Boeing and the Justice Department first reached an agreement in 2021 about the two crashes that allowed the company to avoid criminal charges. But federal prosecutors this year said that the company had violated the terms of that agreement and came up with a new one, which was agreed to in principle on Sunday.

Persons: Max Organizations: Justice Department, Boeing

☆ Boeing Agrees to Buy Spirit AeroSystems, a Longtime Supplier
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boeing said on Monday that it had agreed to buy a major supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, ending a nearly two-decade experiment in outsourcing production of major components of its commercial planes, including the body of the 737 Max and parts of the 767, 777 and 787. In buying Spirit, Boeing hopes to stem quality problems that have plagued the supplier in recent years. While it already has significant influence over Spirit, Boeing will more easily be able to monitor and change production practices by owning the business outright. The deal, which was widely expected, was valued at $4.7 billion in stock or $8.3 billion including Spirit’s debt. Boeing said its acquisition of Spirit is expected to close by the middle of next year.

Persons: ”, Dave Calhoun Organizations: Boeing, Airbus

☆ Justice Department Is Said to Offer Boeing Plea Deal Over 737 Max Crashes
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | More About Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department plans to offer Boeing a plea deal related to a pair of fatal crashes involving its 737 Max plane more than five years ago, but the agreement would fall short of what families of the victims of those crashes had sought, a lawyer representing the families said on Sunday. In a statement, the lawyers described the offer as a “sweetheart plea deal” and said that it would not force Boeing to admit fault in the deaths of the 346 people who died in the crashes in late 2018 and early 2019. “The families will strenuously object to this plea deal,” Paul G. Cassell, a lawyer representing families and a University of Utah law professor, said in the statement. He added, “The memory of 346 innocents killed by Boeing demands more justice than this.”The deal would include a fine, three years of probation and the appointment of an external monitor, Mr. Cassell said. The Justice Department was meeting with the families on Sunday afternoon.

Persons: ”, ” Paul G, Cassell Organizations: Department, Boeing, Cassell, University of Utah, The Justice

☆ Boeing Angers Safety Officials With Disclosures on 737 Max Incident
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | Mark Walker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boeing drew fresh criticism from a federal regulator on Thursday over disclosures about the continuing investigation into a harrowing January flight in which one of the company’s 737 Max planes lost a panel, exposing passengers to howling winds at an altitude of about 16,000 feet. Addressing reporters at a company factory in Renton, Wash., Elizabeth Lund, a Boeing executive, provided new details on Tuesday about how the plane involved in the incident left the plant apparently without four critical bolts that secured the panel, known as a door plug, in place. Boeing said the information was not for release until Thursday morning, under a common kind of agreement that allowed the attending reporters time to process the detailed briefing. But on Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board rebuked the company for sharing investigative information and speculating about the cause of the incident, saying Boeing had “blatantly violated” the agency’s rules surrounding active investigations. The agency said it would provide details about that violation to the Justice Department, which is investigating the January flight.

Persons: Max, Elizabeth Lund Organizations: Boeing, National Transportation, Justice Department Locations: Renton, Wash

☆ Boeing Says Added Inspections Are Raising 737 Max Production Quality
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boeing says it has achieved significant quality improvements in the production of the 737 Max since one of the planes lost a panel in a harrowing flight in January. The incident, on an Alaska Airlines flight, resulted in no major injuries, but it raised fresh concerns about the quality of Boeing’s planes more than five years after two fatal crashes. In response, Boeing announced changes aimed at improving quality and safety, including expanding training, simplifying plans and procedures and reducing defects from suppliers. One of the more important changes Boeing has made since January was requiring that bodies of 737 Max planes pass a more rigorous inspection before being shipped to Renton, near Seattle, for final assembly. The body is made in Wichita, Kan., by Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier that Boeing is expected to soon acquire.

Persons: Elizabeth Lund, Max, Spirit AeroSystems Organizations: Boeing, Alaska Airlines Locations: Renton, Wash, Seattle, Wichita, Kan

Boeing would use stock instead of cash to buy Spirit AeroSystems, said the two people, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal. One added that Boeing would pay more than $4 billion for Spirit, which produces aviation parts, including the body of the Boeing 737 Max, the company’s most popular plane. One of the people familiar with the talks said that the decision to shift to stock from cash was not expected to significantly delay a deal, which could be announced as soon as next week. Based on its stock price on Tuesday, Spirit has a market value of more than $3.6 billion. News that Boeing was proposing to use its stock, rather than cash, to buy Spirit was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

Organizations: Boeing, Max, Wall Street

☆ Are Planes Safe Right Now? How to Understand Flight Disruptions.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | Christine Chung | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

No shortage of problems can affect a flight, fueling traveler anxiety and contributing to thousands of daily delays and cancellations around the world. But for all of the frustration and alarm such events cause, it can be difficult to interpret and understand their severity. Here’s how aviation safety experts say travelers should think about disruptions when they occur. Several alarming air travel incidents have made headlines in recent weeks — a sharp plunge toward an ocean, an unnerving wobble that damaged the tail of a plane and an aborted departure after an apparent engine fire. But the most common mishaps and malfunctions, even if hair-raising, are not typically severe, experts said.

☆ Lawmakers to Confront Boeing Chief on Mounting Quality and Safety Issues
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Mark Walker | Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senate lawmakers plan to grill Boeing’s chief executive at a hearing on Tuesday about the company’s safety practices in the wake of a harrowing flight in January during which a panel blew out of one of its planes. In a report published hours ahead of the hearing, the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations accused Boeing of mismanaging parts and cutting quality inspections in recent years. Boeing’s chief executive, Dave Calhoun, plans to to express regret over the flight in January and admit to the subcommittee that the company’s culture is “far from perfect,” according to prepared remarks. The hearing, scheduled for 2 p.m., will be Mr. Calhoun’s first appearance before Congress since the January flight, which involved a 737 Max 9 plane. Those crashes, in which 346 people died, led to a 20-month global ban on the plane.

Persons: Dave Calhoun, Calhoun’s, Calhoun Organizations: Investigations

Shortly after Boeing’s chief executive, Dave Calhoun, took his seat, families who lost relatives in the 2018 and 2019 crashes of the company’s 737 Max 8 planes called out to him, demanding that he turn around and acknowledge them and the photos of their loved ones. Among those behind Mr. Calhoun were the parents and brother of Samya Rose Stumo, the 24-year-old who was killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines accident and the grandniece of Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate and former presidential candidate. Nearby sat the family of John Barnett, the former Boeing engineer and whistle-blower who died by suicide earlier this year in the midst of a Justice Department criminal investigation into the company. Others held photos of their loved ones lost in the crashes. “I would like to apologize, on behalf of all of our Boeing associates spread throughout the world, past and present, for your losses,” Mr. Calhoun said while facing the families.

Persons: Dave Calhoun, Calhoun, Samya Rose Stumo, Ralph Nader, John Barnett, ” Mr, Calhoun’s Organizations: Boeing, Justice Department, Alaska Airlines Locations: Portland , Ore

☆ U.S. Investigating ‘Dutch Roll’ That Damaged a Boeing 737 During Flight
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Remy Tumin | Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8, was flying at an altitude of 34,000 feet from Phoenix to Oakland, Calif., around 8 a.m. Pacific time on May 25 when the flight crew members said they experienced what is known as a Dutch roll, the N.T.S.B. A Dutch roll is “a coupled oscillation” that creates simultaneous side-to-side and rocking motions, producing a figure-8 effect. The phenomenon is believed to have been named by an aeronautical engineer who compared it to a traditional ice skating technique made popular in the Netherlands. If unaddressed, the wobbling can become more exaggerated, creating a dangerous feedback loop. “It’s a weird movement of the airplane, an oscillation that, if not dampened or stopped, could continue to get worse and worse,” said Jeff Guzzetti, a former accident investigator for the F.A.A.

Persons: ”, Jeff Guzzetti, “ Organizations: Southwest Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, Boeing Locations: Phoenix, Oakland, Calif, Netherlands

☆ A Big Decision for Boeing’s Next C.E.O.: Is It Time for a New Plane?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than a decade ago, executives at Boeing made a pivotal decision: To keep up with the company’s main rival, Airbus, they gave up on the idea of developing a new airplane and raced to update the 737, the company’s most popular jet. The jet’s troubles have left Boeing behind Airbus in the global market for single-aisle planes, which it once dominated. Now, Boeing, which is expected to appoint a new chief executive by the end of the year, has to make another critical choice: When should it develop its next brand-new plane? If the company missteps, it could spend billions of dollars and still lose market share to Airbus, which is based in Toulouse, France. Both manufacturers also face a distant but rising threat from China and growing pressure to cut planet-warming emissions.

Organizations: Boeing, Airbus Locations: Toulouse, France, China

☆ Boeing Gives F.A.A. Plan to Address Systemic Quality-Control Issues
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Mark Walker | Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boeing’s top executives delivered a plan to improve quality and safety to the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday, vowing to address systemic issues that have damaged the company’s reputation and put the aircraft manufacturer at the center of several federal investigations. Boeing detailed these and other steps during a three-hour meeting with the F.A.A.’s administrator, Mike Whitaker, where the company submitted a “comprehensive action plan” that the regulator ordered in February. Mr. Whitaker had given Boeing 90 days to develop a plan to make sweeping safety improvements after a midcabin panel known as a door plug blew out of a 737 Max 9 jet flying at about 16,000 feet on Jan. 5. No one was seriously injured during the flight. said in a statement on Thursday that “senior” leaders from the agency would “meet with Boeing weekly to review their performance metrics, progress, and any challenges they’re facing in implementing the changes.”

Persons: ’, Mike Whitaker, Whitaker Organizations: Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing

☆ American Airlines Is Accused of Discrimination in Lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Three Black men have accused American Airlines of “blatant race discrimination” over its temporary removal of them and five other men from a Jan. 5 flight from Phoenix to New York, in a federal lawsuit filed on Wednesday. The men said they were seated on a plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport when an airline employee went row by row asking them to get off the plane. As they exited, the passengers noticed that all the Black men on the flight, eight in total, appeared to have been removed. An American representative told the men at the time that the complaint had come from a white flight attendant. When one described the removal from the plane as discriminatory, an American employee said, “I agree, I agree,” according to a cellphone recording that was shared with The New York Times.

Persons: “ Organizations: American Airlines, Sky Harbor International, Public Citizen, The New York Times Locations: Phoenix, New York, American

☆ Boeing Locks Out Firefighters in Contract Dispute, and Biden Weighs In
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Contract negotiations between Boeing and a union representing firefighters at some of the company’s commercial plane factories broke down last week. On Thursday, President Biden called on both sides to return to the negotiating table. The company locked out about 125 workers represented by a chapter of the International Association of Firefighters union on Saturday after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract, said Casey Yeager, the president of the union chapter, I-66. The previous contract expired on March 1, but the firefighters, who work at Boeing’s plants in the Seattle area, continued to work under its provisions. The talks, conducted with the help of a federal mediator, stalled after the firefighters rejected what the company had said was its final offer.

Persons: Biden, Casey Yeager, Yeager, ”, “ Organizations: Boeing, International Association of Firefighters Locations: Seattle

☆ F.A.A. Is Investigating Boeing Over 787 Dreamliner Inspections
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Mark Walker | Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Federal Aviation Administration has opened a new investigation into Boeing after the plane maker told the regulator that it might have skipped required inspections involving the wings of some 787 Dreamliners. In a statement on Monday, the F.A.A. As part of its inquiry, the agency said it was looking into whether employees at the company may have falsified aircraft records. said that Boeing was reinspecting all Dreamliners still in production and that the company needed to create a plan to address aircraft already in service. will take any necessary action — as always — to ensure the safety of the flying public,” the statement said.

Organizations: Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing

☆ Boeing Defends Safety of 787 Dreamliner After Whistle-Blower’s Claims
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Mark Walker | Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boeing sought on Monday to reassure the public of the safety of its 787 Dreamliner plane days before a whistle-blower is scheduled to testify before Congress about his concerns regarding the jet’s structural integrity. The presentation came just under a week after The New York Times reported the allegations by the whistle-blower, Sam Salehpour, who works as a quality engineer at Boeing and is set to testify before a Senate panel on Wednesday. Mr. Salehpour said that sections of the fuselage of the Dreamliner, a wide-body plane that makes extensive use of composite materials, were not properly fastened together and that the plane could suffer structural failure over time as a result. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating his allegations. Mr. Salehpour’s claims instantly created another public-relations problem for Boeing, which has been facing intense scrutiny over its manufacturing practices after a panel came off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

Persons: Sam Salehpour, Salehpour, Salehpour’s Organizations: Boeing, New York Times, Federal Aviation Administration, Alaska Airlines Locations: North Charleston, S.C

☆ Spirit Airlines Will Delay Plane Purchases and Furlough Pilots
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | More About Niraj Chokshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Spirit Airlines said on Monday that it would delay delivery of new Airbus planes and furlough pilots to save money as it seeks to overcome several setbacks, including a blocked merger, engine problems and a lackluster recovery from the pandemic. Spirit and JetBlue gave up an effort to appeal that decision last month. Spirit plans to delay most of the Airbus planes it had expected to receive in 2025 and 2026 by about five years. It also said it expected to furlough about 260 pilots starting on Sept. 1. Those changes will help Spirit, which has lost money in each of the last four years, return to profitability, the company’s chief executive, Ted Christie, said.

Persons: Ted Christie Organizations: Spirit Airlines, Airbus, JetBlue Airways, Spirit, JetBlue

In February last year, a new Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max plane was on one of its first flights when an automated stabilizing system appeared to malfunction, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing soon after they took off. Less than two months later, an Alaska Airlines 737 Max plane with eight hours of total flight time was briefly grounded until mechanics resolved a problem with a fire detection system. And in November, an engine on a just-delivered United Airlines 737 Max failed at 37,000 feet. These incidents, which the airlines disclosed to the Federal Aviation Administration, were not widely reported. But since Jan. 5, when a panel on a two-month-old Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet blew off in midair, episodes like these have taken on new resonance, raising further questions about the quality of the planes Boeing is producing.

Persons: Max, ”, Joe Jacobsen Organizations: Southwest Airlines Boeing, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, Max, Boeing Locations: Alaska

☆ 4 Takeaways About Boeing’s Quality Problems
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Niraj Chokshi | Sydney Ember | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Boeing has faced intense scrutiny and pressure since a panel blew off a 737 Max 9 shortly after the plane, an Alaska Airlines flight, took off on Jan. 5. The episode raised fresh questions about the quality of the planes the company produces several years after two Max 8 planes crashed, killing nearly 350 people. Interviews with more than two dozen current and former employees reveal longstanding concerns about quality, particularly as pressure increased to keep production going in the company’s factories. Now, Boeing faces an immense challenge as it seeks to make changes that improve the quality of its products and regain its credibility with lawmakers, regulators, airlines and the public. Current and former Boeing employees said that for years it felt as if quality took a back seat to keeping planes moving through its factories.

Persons: Max Organizations: Boeing, Alaska Airlines

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