Boeing Replaces Head of Jet Sales to Airlines
Boeing Co., reeling from the loss of several multibillion-dollar jetliner orders to rival Airbus, grounded its top salesman Friday.
Toby Bright, Boeing’s chief commercial aircraft salesman, was replaced by Scott E. Carson, who ran Boeing’s in-flight, high-speed Internet service.
The shake-up comes as Boeing continues to lose ground to Airbus. The European company supplanted Boeing last year as the world’s largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, and Airbus is expected to deliver 320 jetliners this year compared with about 285 for Boeing.
Boeing has “lost a lot of competitions, particularly among airlines that were long-time Boeing customers,” said Paul H. Nisbet, an aerospace analyst for JSA Research Inc.
A big blow came last month when Air Berlin, Europe’s third-largest low-cost carrier, placed a $6.6-billion order for 70 single-aisle Airbus A320s. It was a tough loss for the U.S. manufacturer because Air Berlin operates a fleet of mostly Boeing 737s.
That followed other recent Airbus coups, including a $2-billion order from Indian Airlines for 43 A321 planes and a $625-million deal from Vietnam Airlines for 10 A321s. In each case, Airbus was apparently the low bidder or offered financial guarantees that Chicago-based Boeing was unwilling to match, according to reports.
Boeing may have lost another major competition as well. Malaysia’s AirAsia is expected to announce within days that it will order up to 80 Airbus planes in a deal worth as much as $5.2 billion. AirAsia’s current fleet consists entirely of Boeing planes.
The change in Boeing’s sales team is seen as an effort to stem further losses, and a big test is expected early next year when Malaysia Airlines will choose between Boeing and Airbus to replace 39 older Boeing 737s.
Longer term, Boeing is betting that its fuel-efficient 7E7 mid-sized jet, which is being developed to replace its older 757 and 767 models, will take orders away from Airbus.
Carson, 58, joined Boeing in 1973 as a financial analyst on the B-1 bomber program. In the last five years he’s been president of its Connexion unit, which provides high-speed Net access to air passengers. In that job he has had extensive contacts with airline executives, and even got Lufthansa to install Boeing’s Web system on its Airbus planes.
Bright’s tenure in Boeing’s top sales post suffered from bad timing; he was named to the position in January 2002 as the airline industry went into a tailspin after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Moreover, Boeing Chief Executive Harry Stonecipher has vowed the company would not sign money-losing deals just to stem loses in market share. Analysts believe his mandate hampered Bright’s ability to match Airbus’ offers.
“Bright took over at a time when traditional Boeing customers are not doing so well,” said Adam Pilarski, senior vice president for aviation consulting firm Avitas Inc. Since 2000, passenger traffic has been stagnant among U.S. airlines, Boeing’s biggest market, while it rose 7.4% in Europe, Airbus’ stronghold.
As part of its management shakeup, Boeing said Laurette Koellner, its head of human resources, would replace Carson as Connexion’s president. The Internet division has operations in Irvine and Seattle.
Boeing shares rose 40 cents Friday to close at $55.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.
