Specialist
Former VP at United Airlines Inc
Agenda
- Boeing's (NYSE: BA) reaction to the novel coronavirus pandemic – impact on new orders and aircraft cancellation
- Boeing's ability to cycle through stored aircraft during pandemic
- 737 Max safety – pilot training requirements and potential time commitment
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other regulatory bodies' opinions on 737 Max readiness
Questions
1.
Can you outline the stimulus plan, and how it’s carved out for airlines specifically? How should we think about the USD 25bn loan and USD 32bn in grants that the US federal government set aside for them?
2.
Are there any airlines that you think might not want to take up these grants and loans? How likely is it for the US government to modify these restrictions?
3.
How much time do you think USD 25bn in loans and the USD 32bn in grants provides for all these airlines? Obviously, the novel coronavirus pandemic is still rapidly evolving.
4.
How does the approval process for loans and grants work, from your perspective? Is there a cap on how SP: much each airline can get, or can apply for?
5.
How should we interpret the stimulus plan from Boeing’s perspective? Boeing floated a request for USD 60bn, for the company itself and its suppliers but, unlike with the airlines, it doesn’t have an allocated portion.
6.
How confident are you that Boeing might seek funding elsewhere?
7.
Is 9/11 the most accurate benchmark when trying to anticipate the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on airlines?
8.
Were there sufficient lessons learned from what happened following 9/11, to enact now to reduce that time frame to get everything back to normal? As you said, the coronavirus pandemic is ongoing, and the scale is much wider.
9.
What indicators would suggest that we’re entering the recovery stage? What might be an inflection point?
10.
What contingency plans do airlines have in place and how might they go about mitigating risk over the next few months and beyond?
11.
Can you help us understand how the cost-benefit analysis plays out when airlines decide whether to cancel or defer an order?
12.
Is the maintenance cost of an older aircraft a factor, based on your experience?
13.
What is your outlook for when there might be new demand coming in? Might this prolong when new orders start coming in for Boeing?
14.
Can the air carriers’ orders that are due to be delivered in 2020 and 2021 be cancelled or postponed?
15.
What does the penalty clause read for an order that’s cancelled or deferred, and might it get revised given today’s circumstances?
16.
Can we discuss the Boeing 737 Max and your outlook on it and how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted and on the views from the regulatory body?
17.
Do you think that Boeing has tracked every item on the list and is the impact of the coronavirus pandemic the only roadblock remaining to 737 Max certification?
18.
Previously, there was a sentiment where the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] would expect to approve the 737 Max certification alongside other regulatory bodies. Has that sentiment changed?
19.
How do you perceive the 737 Max at this point? Do you feel like Boeing has done everything to ensure safety?
20.
What kind of assurance might airlines need to put in new orders again over the next few years? Using historic events, such as 9/11 and others that you mentioned.
21.
Did airlines continue new deliveries through the 9/11 period or shortly afterwards? What were the cost implications of airlines receiving these deliveries and then having to park them?
22.
Can you outline the health of the airlines that comprise a sizeable portion of Boeing’s backlog? How would you grade their ability to endure the coronavirus pandemic?
23.
Is there potential for new price negotiations, or are aircraft prices already locked in at the point of the order?
24.
If there’s a request for a delivery to be deferred or delayed, how does that process work? How does Boeing go about deciding the orders?
25.
Is there anything you feel that we haven’t got a chance to touch on, that you would like to discuss or emphasise?
26.
What do you consider to be the best- and worst-case scenario for Boeing?
27.
What is your outlook for 2021? I know you mentioned your outlook for the Max being certified is probably not likely for 2020. Can you help us understand when, or what assumptions we should have in place when we’re trying to predict the certification?
28.
Would you also expect there may be a delay for the 777X, that I think is expected to be flying then, too?
29.
Can you highlight a few key takeaways from our discussion, particularly for Boeing and the airline industry?
