GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES
Boeing has quietly eliminated its Boeing Airplane Services (BAS) unit and divided its responsibilities as part of a major reshuffle of the company's wide ranging Commercial Aviation Services (CAS) organisation.
Boeing denies that BAS was dissolved because of poor performance on several troubled modification programmes, ranging from the DHL Boeing 757 cargo conversion programme to the delayed Delta Air Lines 777 upper lobe crew rest installation, but admits that "not everything we did was right".
The move also follows the closure of the 747 freighter conversion line at Wichita, Kansas, which had been scheduled before 11 September, and the failure to secure launch customers for the 737-300/400 and 767-200/300 freighter conversion programmes because of uncompetitive pricing. The company still plans, however, to move ahead with both efforts later this year in conjunction with partners.
Although the CAS re-organisation is being described as "work in progress" much of the final structure is in place, says Boeing. Under the leadership of Mike Bair, executive vice president of CAS, the structure is being realigned to move "functions more in line with the way customers do business with us". Work that is similar or complementary is being repackaged.
Former parts of BAS, such as aircraft-on-ground and component maintenance, are being absorbed into Maintenance Operations Services led by newly appointed former United Airlines executive Lou Mancini.
This unit also includes maintenance information, engineering and planning, and the Continental Graphics and AeroInfo subsidiaries. Other components, including BAS's passenger to freight modifications work, are being absorbed into Technical Services and Modifications.
This will also include the activities of Customer Support which has been dissolved. Led by Mike Marino, the Technical Services portfolio includes service engineering, interiors, in-flight entertainment and avionics.
Other elements of CAS remain unchanged. These include Flight Safety Boeing Training International and the Spares unit.
Flight Operations Services has been expanded to include Crew Information Services, Flight Technical Services, Airports, Disruption Management, Airframe Systems and Performance, and the Jeppesen and SBS International subsidiaries.
Boeing Business Jets, headed by Lee Monson, has moved from CAS to Commercial Airplanes.
Source: Flight International
