Boeing's 70 Percent Drop in Sales Blamed on 'Corporate Hubris'

Boeing's sales have fallen 70 percent in 2024, as a succession of safety issues and legal woes take their toll on demand for its jets.

A public relations-expert blamed the declining orders on Boeing's "corporate hubris," and told Newsweek that the only thing that can save its reputation would be an overhaul of the Boeing board.

Boeing sold just 14 jets in June, according to the historical orders report on the company's website.

This compares poorly to the same month last year, when the Boeing received orders for 304 new aircraft.

While last year's figures were bolstered by a 220-plane order by Tata Group-owned Air India, the company has continued to suffer from weak demand throughout 2024.

Boeing has received orders for only 156 planes in the year so far, a 70 percent drop from the 527 sales it made in the first six months of 2023.

One of Boeing's June orders was from Alaska Airlines, who last week returned the Boeing 737 MAX 9 involved in the January door plug blowout to the plane maker after it was deemed unfit to return to the airline's fleet.

Since the January incident, the company has battled a series of high-profile mishaps, mounting concerns over its aircrafts' safety and felony-level legal troubles.

One expert told Newsweek that the drop in demand for Boeing's planes was a result of "reputational damage" caused to the once high-flying company by these developments.

Larry Kopp, founder and chairman of PR-firm The TASC Group said: "As Boeing seeks to understand why its sales have fallen, it must acknowledge that its response to the crisis has been incompetent and faulty."

The release of its June sales figures also come days after the company reached a plea deal with the Department of Justice.

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud, having misled Federal Aviation Administration regulators into approving the 737 MAX airplane that was involved in the 2018 and 2019 fatal crashes.

News of the deal outraged the families of those killed in the two crashes, who branded the $243.6 million fine Boeing will have to pay "a slap on the wrist" for the aerospace giant.

The victims' families intend to voice their objections to the "sweetheart" deal in court within a few weeks.

"This situation is a classic example of corporate hubris," Kopp said. "Boeing has existed like a virtual monopoly for decades, and this is the first time its safety record and production issues have been questioned at this scale."

Kopp told Newsweek that for the company to recover its shattered corporate image, changes need to be made at the highest level.

"Boeing can recover if it accepts total responsibility and takes immediate steps to repair its image and company performance," he said. "New leadership needs to be installed as soon as possible."

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