Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a meeting with Kelly Ortberg, President and CEO, Boeing.
| Photo Credit: X/@nsitharamanoffc
Boeing’s new President and CEO Kelly Ortberg is in India this week which is his first international visit since taking over in August.
On his agenda are business meetings with Boeing’s customers in the country, which include a meeting with Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata, according to industry sources. There are also meetings with key government stakeholders as well as employees. Though the visit has been kept under wraps, it is learnt that visits to some of Boeing’s facilities in Hyderabad and Bengaluru are also on his itinerary. He is in India for nearly three days.
Boeing and Tata have a joint venture in Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited for manufacturing aerostructures and collaboration on integrated systems development opportunities in India, both for its military and civil aircraft that includes a production facility in Hyderabad for co-producing Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselages, among other aerostructures. The Tata Advanced systems Limited (TASL) also manufactures composite assemblies for Boeing’s 737 MAX, 777X, and 787 Dreamliner.
On Tuesday, Ortberg met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Dr. Brendan Nelson, President of Boeing Global and Salil Gupte, President of Boeing India.
“Grateful to @nsitharaman for a productive discussion with @Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg. Our partnership with India continues to grow, and Boeing is fully committed to advancing the #AatmanirbharBharat vision,” Mr Gupte posted on X.
It was not immediately known whether Mr Ortberg also met commercial airlines, who are among Boeing’s top customers, which include Tata Group’s Air India with 220 Boeing aircraft on order and Akasa Air with an order of 226 Boeing 737 MAXs.
Also read: TASL to make advanced composite assemblies for Boeing
Mr Ortberg took charge at a time the US aerospace manufacturer was grappling with multiple crisis, including hightened regulatory oversight amidst concerns over quality control standards following the door-plug blowout aboard an Alaskan Air flight in January 2024. This has also led to a slowing down of aircraft production leaving customers scrambling for jets. There have also been challenges related to employees, including a two-month strike by Boeing’s machinists in September, job cuts as well as low employee morale.
In India, delays in the delivery of Boeing 737 MAX 8s have resulted in fleet expansion drastically slowing down at Akasa Air where only three Maxs were added in 2024 after a rate of a-plane-a-month in the previous two years. This has also led to hundreds of excess pilots at the airline. At Air India Express too, the airline has been forced to borrow A320s from Air India after adding 35 MAXs.
Published – January 15, 2025 01:28 pm IST
