Boeing Criticism & Southwest’s Financial Strategy: CEO Insights from Harvard Fellow Bill George

Harvard Business School executive fellow Bill George has weighed in on the criticism facing aircraft company Boeing following recent plane issues, during an interview with CNBC’s ‘The Big Money Show.’ Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan revealed that his carrier is considering changing its boarding and seating processes to improve financial performance. The airline reported a net loss of $231 million in the previous quarter due to Boeing delays and announced it will be pulling out of multiple underperforming airports. While acknowledging that it was disappointing to report a loss, Jordan stated that Southwest is taking swift action “to address our financial underperformance” and has implemented cost control initiatives such as limiting hiring and offering voluntary time off programs due to production issues affecting several major carriers after the FAA ramped up oversight of Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems following a door plug blowing out mid-flight on one Alaska Airlines’ Max 9 jet in early January. United Airlines has estimated that it lost around $200 million due to temporary groundings earlier this year, resulting in the airline having to temporarily halt pilot hiring before asking pilots to take unpaid time off more recently amid persistent delays facing carriers dealing with manufacturing disruption issues linked to Boeing and its supplier.