Daily Mail|President Donald Trump has criticised Boeing as a ‘very disappointing company’ in a press conference today.
He cited the aerospace giant’s recent problems after the grounding of the 737 MAX plane, which he said had a knock-on effect for the US economy.
‘This is one of the great companies of the world, let’s say as of a year ago, and then all of a sudden things happen,’ Trump said in an interview on CNBC from the Davos economic forum in Switzerland.
This ‘had a tremendous impact. You know, when you talk about growth, it’s so big that some people say it’s more than a half a point of GDP. So Boeing – big, big disappointment to me,’ he said.
Trump’s words come a week after he urged Boeing executives to resolve the Max issues quickly, telling CFO Greg Smith: ‘Get that going. Work together.’
Boeing had Tuesday officially pushed back the time frame for the 737 MAX to return to the skies, with executives stating they do not foresee regulators lifting a flight ban until June or July, months later than the original estimate.
The revelation sent shares plunging and overshadowed an earlier announcement of a first flight of the delayed 777X plane.
The timetable – the latest of several delays in the plane’s approval process – will create more headaches for airlines by pushing the Max’s return further into the peak summer travel season or possibly beyond it.
Boeing shares fell more than 5% by Tuesday afternoon.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday he believed that issues including the grounding of of Boeing 737 MAX plane had shaved some 0.5 to 0.7 of a percent point off the US growth rate.
The 737 MAX was grounded worldwide March 13, 2019 after two crashes claimed the lives of 346 people.
The first disaster happened in October 2018 in Indonesia, when a MAX flying as Lion Air flight JT 610 fell into the Java Sea 15 minutes after taking off from Jakarta.
All 189 aboard the plane died, including 180 Indonesians, one Italian and one Indian.
The second crash occurred in March 2019 when Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302, which also was a MAX jet, took off from Bole International Airport in the Ethiopian capital and crashed.
Shortly after the first Max crash, Boeing began updating software that investigators say was triggered by a faulty sensor and pushed the plane’s nose down.
Boeing has made the software less powerful and tied it to two sensors instead of one. That work was done months ago, but the company is still working on changes to flight-control computers and pilot-training requirements. Another software issue was discovered last week, although one of the people familiar with the situation said it would not cause more delay in the plane’s return.
The FAA will ultimately have the final say on when the MAX can fly again.