The Boeing Company started in 1916, when American lumber industrialistWilliam E. Boeing founded Pacific Aero Products Company in Seattle, Washington. Shortly before doing so, he and Conrad Westervelt created the"B&W" seaplane.[13] In 1917, the organization was renamed Boeing Airplane Company, with William Boeing forming Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation in 1928.[14] In 1929, the company was renamedUnited Aircraft and Transport Corporation, followed by the acquisition of several aircraft makers such as Avion, ChanceVought,Sikorsky Aviation,Stearman Aircraft,Pratt & Whitney, and Hamilton Metalplane.[2]
In 1931, the group merged its four smaller airlines intoUnited Airlines. In 1934, aircraft manufacturing was required to be separate from air transportation.[15] Therefore, Boeing Airplane Company became one of three major groups to arise from the dissolution of United Aircraft and Transport; the other two entities wereUnited Aircraft (laterUnited Technologies) and United Airlines.[2][15]
In 1960, the company boughtVertol Aircraft Corporation, which at the time, was the biggest independent manufacturer ofhelicopters.[16] During the 1960s and 1970s, the company diversified into industries such as outer space travel, marine craft, agriculture, energy production and transit systems.[2]
Sea Launch
In 1995, Boeing partnered with Russian, Ukrainian, and Anglo-Norwegian organizations to createSea Launch, a company providing commercial launch services sending satellites to geostationary orbit from floating platforms.[17] In 2000, Boeing acquired the satellite segment ofHughes Electronics.[2][18]
Merger with McDonnell Douglas
In December 1996, Boeing announced its intention to merge withMcDonnell Douglas, which, following regulatory approval, was completed on August 1, 1997.[19][20] The delay was caused by objections from theEuropean Commission, which ultimately placed three conditions on the merger: exclusivity agreements with three US airlines would be terminated, separate accounts would be maintained for the McDonnell-Douglas civil aircraft business, and some defense patents were to be made available to competitors.[21] In 2020,Quartz reported that after the merger there was a "clash of corporate cultures, where Boeing's engineers and McDonnell Douglas's bean-counters went head-to-head", which the latter won, and that this may have contributed to the events leading up to the 737 MAX crash crisis.[22]
Corporate headquarters moves
Boeing's corporate headquarters moved from Seattle to Chicago in 2001.[23] In 2018, the company opened its first factory in Europe atSheffield, UK, reinforced by a research partnership with theUniversity of Sheffield.[24]
In May 2020, the company cut over 12,000 jobs due to the drop in air travel during theCOVID-19 pandemic with plans for a total 10% cut of its workforce or approximately 16,000 positions.[25] In July 2020, Boeing reported a loss of $2.4 billion as a result of the pandemic and theBoeing 737 MAX groundings, and that it was in response planning to make more job and production cuts.[26] On August 18, 2020, CEO Dave Calhoun announced further job cuts;[27] on October 28, 2020, nearly 30,000 employees were laid off, as the airplane manufacturer was increasingly losing money due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28]
In May 2022, Boeing announced plans to transfer its global headquarters from Chicago toArlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The company said that this decision was made in part to concentrate on its defense work with "proximity to our customers and stakeholders".[29][30] After the January 2024Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and other incidents, one shareholder proposed relocating the corporate headquarters back to the Seattle area in hopes of getting engineering and quality control teams on-site access to key decision-makers. Boeing's board soundly dismissed the attempt.[31][32]
In February 2023, Boeing announced plans for laying off approximately 2,000 of its workers from finances and human resources.[33]
In May 2023, Boeing acquired autonomouseVTOL air taxi startupWisk Aero.[34]
In June 2024, Boeing agreed to re-acquireSpirit AeroSystems, its longtime supplier of airplane parts, which had been established in 2005 when Boeingspun-off its Wichita division to an investment firm. The deal was initially discussed in March of the same year before being closed on June 30 at $4.7 billion.[35]
On September 12, 2024, a vote was held among Boeing machinist workers who are also members of theInternational Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) labor union, with 94.6% of participating members rejected a contract offer that the union's bargaining committee had endorsed, with 96% voting to strike.[36] At 12:01 am on September 13, Boeing workers went on strike for the first time since 2008.[36][37]
On October 12, 2024, the company announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs, about 10% of its global workforce, "to align with our financial reality". It would also delay the first deliveries of its 777X airliner by a year and recorded $5 billion in losses in the third quarter of the year.[38][39] On October 28, Boeing initiated a significant share sale, valued at nearly $19 billion, to address cash-flow issues and avoid a potential downgrade tojunk status.[40]
On November 1, 2024, the IAM endorsed an improved contract offer which would see a 38% pay rise over four years, a $12,000 ratification bonus, and the reinstatement of an annual bonus scheme.[41] On November 5, 2024, Boeing workers accepted the pay deal, ending a seven-week-long walk out.[42]
Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) builds military airplanes, rotorcraft, and missiles, as well as space systems for both commercial and military customers, including satellites, spacecraft, and rockets.
Boeing Global Services (BGS) provides aftermarket support, such as maintenance and upgrades, to customers who purchase equipment from BCA, BDS, or other manufacturers.
PK-LQP, the Lion Air aircraft involvedET-AVJ, the Ethiopian Airlines aircraft involved
In2018 and2019, twoBoeing 737 MAX narrow-body passenger airplanes crashed, leaving 346 people dead and no survivors. In response, aviation regulators and airlines around the worldgrounded all 737 MAX airliners.[44] A total of 387 aircraft were grounded.[45] Boeing's reputation, business, and financial rating suffered after the groundings, as Boeing's strategy, governance, and focus on profits and cost efficiency were questioned.[46][47][48] In 2022,Netflix released an exposé,Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, claiming Boeing's corporate merger with McDonnell Douglas led to the crashes through a disintegration of workplacemorale.[49][50][51][52][53]
In June 2020, theFederal Aviation Administration found several 737 MAX defects that Boeing deferred to fix, in violation ofregulations.[54] In September 2020, theU.S. House of Representatives concluded its own investigation and cited numerous instances where Boeing dismissed employee concerns with a 737 MAX flight stabilizing feature (MCAS) that caused the two fatal accidents, prioritized deadline and budget constraints oversafety, and lacked transparency in disclosing essential information to the FAA. It further found that the assumption thatsimulator training would not be necessary had "diminished safety, minimized the value ofpilot training, and inhibited technical design improvements".[55] On January 7, 2021, Boeingsettled to pay over $2.5 billion after being charged with fraud over the company's hiding of information from the safety regulators: acriminal monetary penalty of $243.6 million, $1.77 billion of damages to airline customers, and a $500 million crash-victim beneficiaries fund.[56]
In September 2022, Boeing was ordered to pay a further $200 million over charges of misleading investors about safety issues related to these crashes.[57] In March 2023, Boeing disputed in court filings that the victims ofEthiopian Airlines Flight 302 (2019 crash) experienced any pain and suffering in the final six minutes as the plane was nosediving into the ground, arguing that an impact at the "speed of sound" would have died too quickly to be painful. Boeing's claim was described as "preposterous" byHuffPost:[58]
Passengers aboard the plane, the plaintiffs argued in court, "undeniably suffered horrific emotional distress, pain and suffering, and physical impact/injury while they endured extreme G-forces, braced for impact, knew the airplane was malfunctioning, and ultimately plummeted nose-down to the ground at terrifying speed".
While the investigations into the crashes of the 737 MAX were proceeding, theBoeing 777X, the company's largest capacity twin jet and the largest ever built, made its maiden flight on January 25, 2020,[59] but also experienced problems. Following an incident duringflight testing in 2021, the estimated first delivery of the aircraft was delayed until 2024.[60] Afterfurther technical problems were discovered in the aircraft in 2022, the release was delayed again until 2025, six years after the original date.[61][62]
On January 5, 2024, onAlaska Airlines Flight 1282, a door plug blowout[63][64] occurred on a737 MAX 9 jetliner after the plane had reached just over 16,000 feet, leaving adoor-sized hole in the fuselage and the aircraft made an emergency landing atPortland International Airport successfully with several people onboard injured, although all had subsequently been "medically cleared".[65] The FAA mandated immediate inspections of all 737 MAX 9s fitted with door plugs,thereby grounding 171 aircraft.[66][67][68]United Airlines found loose bolts on jets grounded by the FAA, raising questions about possible systemic problems with the Boeing 737 MAX 9.[69] The FAA announced on January 12 that it was expanding its scrutiny of Boeing, with a production audit of the 737 MAX 9.[70] On February 6, theNational Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report indicating that four bolts used to secure the panel had been removed, and appeared not to have been replaced, at Boeing's factory inRenton, Washington.[71]
In March 2024, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines blowout.[72] In March 2024, CEO Dave Calhoun and board chairman Larry Kellner both announced they would be stepping down from their positions.[73]
Potential replacement for the 737 MAX
In September 2025,The Wall Street Journal reported Boeing was planning a new single-aisle airplane to succeed the 737 MAX in an effort to recover market share lost toAirbus as a result of safety and quality issues.[74]
Environmental record
In 2006, theUCLA Center for Environmental Risk Reduction released a study showing that Boeing'sSanta Susana Field Laboratory, a site that was a former Rocketdyne test and development site in theSimi Hills of easternVentura County inSouthern California, had been contaminated by Rocketdyne withtoxic andradioactive waste. Boeing agreed to a cleanup agreement with the EPA in 2017.[75] Clean-up studies and lawsuits are in progress.[76]
Boeing reported that each one of the jets it delivered in 2020 will add one million tons of carbon dioxide to the Earth's atmosphere, on average.[77]
On July 19, 2022, Boeing announced a renewed partnership with Mitsubishi to producecarbon-neutral and sustainable solutions.[78]
The airline industry is responsible for about 11% ofgreenhouse gases emitted by the U.S. transportation sector.[79] Aviation's share of the greenhouse gas emissions was poised to grow, as air travel increases and ground vehicles use more alternative fuels likeethanol andbiodiesel.[79] Boeing estimates thatbiofuels could reduce flight-related greenhouse-gas emissions by 60 to 80%.[79] The solution blends algae fuels with existingjet fuel.[79]
Boeing executives said the company was collaborating with Brazilian biofuels makerTecbio,Aquaflow Bionomic of New Zealand, and other fuel developers around the world. As of 2007, Boeing had tested six fuels from these companies, and expected to test 20 fuels "by the time we're done evaluating them".[79] Boeing also joined other aviation-related members in theAlgal Biomass Organization (ABO) in June 2008.[80]
Air New Zealand and Boeing are researching thejatropha plant to see if it is a sustainable alternative to conventional fuel.[81] A two-hour test flight using a 50–50 mixture of the new biofuel withJet A-1 in a Rolls-Royce RB-211 engine of a 747–400 was completed on December 30, 2008.[82] The engine was then removed to be studied to identify any differences between the Jatropha blend and regular Jet A1. No effects on performances were found.[82]
Political contributions, federal contracts, advocacy and criticism
In 2007 and 2008, the company benefited from overUS$10 billion of long-term loan guarantees, helping finance the purchase of their commercial aircraft in countries including Brazil, Canada, Ireland, and theUnited Arab Emirates, from theExport-Import Bank of the United States, some 65% of the total loan guarantees the bank made in the period.[83]
In 2008 and 2009, Boeing was second on the list ofTop 100 US Federal Contractors, with contracts totalingUS$22 billion andUS$23 billion respectively.[84][85] Between 1995 and early 2021, the company agreed to payUS$4.3 billion to settle 84 instances of misconduct, includingUS$615 million in 2006 in relation to illegal hiring of government officials and improper use of proprietary information.[86][87][88]
Boeing's spentUS$16.9 million onlobbying expenditures in 2009.[89][90] In the2008 presidential election,Barack Obama "was by far the biggest recipient of campaign contributions from Boeing employees and executives, hauling inUS$197,000 – five times as much asJohn McCain, and more than the top eight Republicans combined".[91]
The company is a member of theU.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a Washington D.C.–based coalition of more than 400 major companies and NGOs that advocate a larger International Affairs Budget, which funds American diplomatic and development efforts abroad.[94] A series ofU.S. diplomatic cables show how U.S. diplomats and senior politicians intervene on behalf of Boeing to help boost the company's sales.[95]
Boeing secured the highest-evertax breaks at the state level in 2013.[96]
In March 2025, Boeing was awarded a contract to build the U.S. Air Force's most sophisticated fighter, known asNext Generation Air Dominance, in a contract worth more than $20 billion.[97]
Criticism
In December 2011, the non-partisan organizationPublic Campaign criticized Boeing for spendingUS$52.29 million onlobbying andnot paying taxes from 2008 to 2010, instead gettingUS$178 million intax rebates, despite making a profit ofUS$9.7 billion, laying off 14,862 workers since 2008, and increasingexecutive pay by 31% toUS$41.9 million in 2010 for its top five executives.[98]
Boeing has been accused of unethical practices (in violation of theProcurement Integrity Act) while attempting to submit a revised bid toNASA for their lunar landing project.[99]
The firm has been criticized forsupplying and profiting from wars, includingthe war in Yemen where its missiles were found to be used for indiscriminate attacks, killing many civilians.[100][101] In 2017 Boeing signed a deal withSaudi Arabia which included Saudi Arabia buying military aircraft and guided missile systems.[102] Research has estimated Boeing made between $50 billion to $100 billion in revenue via Israeli weapons contracts from 2009 through 2022, in the years leading up to theGaza war.[103]
Between 2010 and 2018, Boeing increased its operatingcash flow from $3 to $15.3billion, sustaining itsshare price, by negotiatingadvance payments from customers and delaying payments to its suppliers. This strategy is sustainable only as long as orders are good and delivery rates are increasing.[142]
From 2013 to 2019, Boeing spent over $60 billion on dividends andstock buybacks, twice as much as the development costs of the 787.[143]
In 2020, Boeing's second quarter revenue was $11.8 billion as a result of the pandemic slump. Due to higher sales in other divisions and an influx in deliveries of commercial jetliners in 2021, second quarter revenue increased by 44%, reaching nearly $17 billion.[144]
Revenues decreased 15 percent to $16.9 billion in the second quarter of 2024, compared to the same time period in 2023.[145] The company's operating loss amounted to $1.39 billion and its net loss to $1.43 billion, while plane deliveries fell to 92 (from 136 in 2023).
In 2024, Boeing delivered just 348 aircraft to its customers, its lowest output since the COVID-19 pandemic.[clarification needed] Boeing ended the year with a backlog of 5,595 unfilled orders.[146]
Approximately 1.5% of Boeing employees are in theTechnical Fellowship program, a program through which Boeing's top engineers and scientists set technical direction for the company.[148] The average salary at Boeing was $76,784 in 2011, as reported by former employees.[149]
Corporate governance
In 2022,Rory Kennedy made a documentary film,Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, streamed byNetflix.[49] She said about the 21st-century history of Boeing "There were many decades when Boeing did extraordinary things by focusing on excellence and safety and ingenuity. Those three virtues were seen as the key to profit. It could work, and beautifully. And then they were taken over by a group that decided Wall Street was the end-all, be-all."[50]
On May 5, 2022, Boeing announced that it would be moving its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Additionally, it plans to add a research and technology center inNorthern Virginia.[150]
In July 2024, it announced a new CEO,Kelly Ortberg.[151][152] On August 8, 2024, he met with FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker to discuss the company's future direction. Ortberg has communicated his commitment to reinforcing Boeing's position as an industry leader and has outlined his vision for the company's continued success.[153]
Board
As of 2022[update], Boeing is headed by a President who also serves as the chief executive officer. The roles of chair of the board and CEO were separated in October 2019.[154]
^Syme, Pete."Boeing's board shut down a shareholder's bid to move its headquarters back to Seattle".Business Insider.Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. RetrievedMarch 12, 2024.Federal Aviation Administration released the findings of its resulting investigation into Boeing ... said there is "a disconnect between Boeing's senior management and other members of the organization on safety culture." Many critics have pointed to Boeing moving its headquarters to Chicago in 2001 as the start of a decline. The company is now headquartered in Virginia, and the 737 Max factory is near Seattle.
^Hepher, Tim; Lampert, Allison; Johnson, Eric (July 27, 2021)."Boeing jets emissions data highlights industry's green challenge". Reuters. RetrievedJune 11, 2025.July 27 (Reuters) - Commercial jets delivered by Boeing Co. last year will account on average for emissions equivalent to 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each over their 20-year-plus lifespans, a new report from the planemaker shows.
^Tkacik, Maureen (September 18, 2019)."Crash Course".The New Republic.ISSN0028-6583.Archived from the original on September 19, 2019. RetrievedSeptember 19, 2019.
Cloud, Dana L. (2011).We Are the Union: Democratic Unionism and Dissent at Boeing. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.ISBN9780252036378.OCLC816419078.
Sell, Terry M. (2015).Wings of Power: Boeing and the Politics of Growth in the Northwest. Seattle: University of Washington Press.ISBN9780295996257.OCLC1313788352.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
.svg){kind=logo}
