• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
FinanceBoeing
Europe

Lufthansa CEO calls Boeing aircraft delays ‘extremely annoying’ following its recent safety crisis—but he’s banking on things getting better

Prarthana Prakash
By
Prarthana Prakash
Prarthana Prakash
Europe Business News Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
Prarthana Prakash
By
Prarthana Prakash
Prarthana Prakash
Europe Business News Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 13, 2024, 11:29 AM ET
a picture of Carsten Spohr
Carsten Spohr is the CEO of Lufthansa.Simon Wohlfahrt—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

It’s been one problem after another for Boeing since the start of the year.

Recommended Video

It all began when a panel fell off mid-flight from one of its aircraft flown by Alaska Airlines. That set off a cascade of unfortunate events, including the fallout over the death of two whistleblowers within two months who had accused the Seattle-based company of taking shortcuts to manufacture its flagship jets. It’s also crucially led to delays in the delivery of its planes. 

With the summer just around the corner, airlines could do with these problems being solved ahead of peak travel time. However, as Boeing trails behind on its deliveries, it’s only adding to carriers’ worries. 

Lufthansa’s CEO Carsten Spohr voiced his concern about Boeing’s delays, calling them “extremely annoying” as it’s costing the German aviation giant hefty sums of money, in an interview with Swiss news outlet Neue Zuercher Zeitung.

He’s the latest aviation industry chief to publicly lament how Boeing’s safety crisis is impacting their business. In February, Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said he wanted Boeing to pay his airline compensation as it “constrained” the budget carrier’s growth. 

Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said he wasn’t happy with the impact of delays in Boeing planes and hoped the aircraft maker’s management would make good on its promise to fix its issues soon, Bloomberg reported last week.  

While some airlines have proven relatively better equipped to deal with delivery delays, others have had to cut flights out of their schedule to cope with the lack of aircraft.

A key reason so many airlines have struggled is that Boeing is one of only two great airplane manufacturers, along with European rival Airbus. A slowdown in the Seattle-based company’s production may have meant more business for its competitor, but only to a certain extent as Airbus maxes out its production capacity. 

“Everyone has an interest in Boeing being able to build great aircraft more reliably again soon,” Lufthansa’s Spohr said, adding that he was “sure Boeing will get the problems under control.”

Fixing the problem

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Boeing—and by extension its airline customers—at the moment is the production cap imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Boeing’s cash cow 737 Max aircraft. 

It’s designed to ensure the highest quality for a plane that has had its fair share of high-profile problems, but has already hurt the company’s margins after just months. Amid all the chaos, Boeing has announced changes to its leadership, including CEO Dave Calhoun’s plan to step down at the end of this year and commercial airplane head Stan Deal’s retirement. 

For its part, Boeing said it’s “implementing a comprehensive action plan” to address an FAA audit into the 737 line’s production, which found several instances of alleged failure to meet manufacturing and quality control standards.  

Ryanair’s O’Leary said he welcomed the changes across Boeing’s management (which he once described as “headless chickens”), hoping that’d help the American company change course.

The world’s biggest airline companies are betting on Boeing pulling its act together so it doesn’t cause more than a blip in delivery delays. But Boeing has a long road to fixing its dented image and building trust as an aviation kingpin.  

Lufthansa didn’t immediately return Fortune’s request for comment.

About the Author
Prarthana Prakash
By Prarthana PrakashEurope Business News Reporter
LinkedIn icon

Prarthana Prakash was a Europe business reporter at Fortune.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

rn
CommentaryCryptocurrency
Former Iran director at NSC: Crypto legislation is a ticket to sanctions evasion
By Richard NephewJuly 2, 2026
2 hours ago
Trump stopped talking about these media stocks, but his portfolio didn’t stop trading them
InvestingDonald Trump
Trump stopped talking about these media stocks, but his portfolio didn’t stop trading them
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 2, 2026
2 hours ago
m
CommentaryManufacturing
McKinsey chairs: Building a more resilient industrial base may require $2 trillion in investment
By Eric Kutcher and Shubham SinghalJuly 2, 2026
2 hours ago
Current price of Bitcoin for July 2, 2026
Personal FinanceCryptocurrency
Current price of Bitcoin for July 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 2, 2026
2 hours ago
Current price of Ethereum for July 2, 2026
Personal FinanceEthereum
Current price of Ethereum for July 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 2, 2026
2 hours ago
Top CD rates from major banks July 2, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Top CD rates from major banks on July 2, 2026: Chase CDs, Bank of America CDs, Citibank CDs, and more
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 2, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
7 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
Trump got a $78K pension from the Screen Actors Guild in 2025 because he appeared in Home Alone 2 in 1992
Politics
Trump got a $78K pension from the Screen Actors Guild in 2025 because he appeared in Home Alone 2 in 1992
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 1, 2026
24 hours ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
5 days ago
CEO of $248 billion cybersecurity company says workers are about to face a ‘Darwinian moment’ thanks to AI: Evolve or get cut
Success
CEO of $248 billion cybersecurity company says workers are about to face a ‘Darwinian moment’ thanks to AI: Evolve or get cut
By Emma BurleighJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.