Over the last few years, Delta Air Linesβ presence has become a staple of CES, with the airline regularly hosting splashy keynotes. This year, the company has rented out the Sphere to announce its latest slate of updates. These include (can you guess it?) an AI-powered assistant in its app, as well as an updated [β¦]
Former Boeing engineer shares what 30 years at the beleaguered plane company was like.
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Manufacturing engineer Douglas Dorsey started working at Boeing in 1984 and retired in 2017.
Dorsey worked on the Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner, where he said things began to unravel.
He reflects on his time on the shop floor and how Boeing plans to repair its reputation.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Douglas Dorsey, from Washington, about his career as a manufacturing engineer at Boeing. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I started my career at Boeing in 1984, and I worked there for over 30 years.
I was a manufacturing engineer. My responsibilities included writing instructions and coming up with assembly sequences for aircraft.
During my career, I worked on several aircraft projects for Boeing, including the Advanced Tactical Fighter program, the Boeing 777, and the 787 Dreamliner. It was always interesting and challenging. I worked with dedicated employees and on cutting-edge programs.
I retired in 2017 feeling proud to have worked there. I was a "lifer" with Boeing blue blood running through my veins.
However, while working on the Boeing 787 program in the 2000s, I noticed that outsourcing manufacturing tasks to suppliers became a really big problem for Boeing. When I worked on the shop floor, I saw the negative impacts of outsourcing to suppliers, such as slower production and delivering incomplete parts.
Even after retiring, I've stayed up to date with Boeing. I've followed the news on malfunctions and strikes, but I think management is taking baby steps in the right direction.
I saw chaos unfold at Boeing due to mismanagement and outsourcing
During the good old days, I had a positive opinion of Boeing. In my first decade at the company, the chain of command was clear. You knew what your job responsibilities were and could count on your line managers. Most importantly, there was no drama with executives, and we had confidence in those in command.
But in 1997, upper management was thrown into chaos when Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas, with McDonnell Douglas executives taking top positions at Boeing. Harry Stonecipher, who was briefly Boeing's CEO, resigned in 2005 after he was found having an affair with an employee.
It was like a corporate soap opera played out in the media. As an employee, the news was distracting and felt like evidence of the level of disorder at the top of the company.
At the same time, the Boeing 787 program was underway. The 787 was launched as a complete departure from how Boeing airplanes had traditionally been constructed. To reduce the time from program launch to when the planes were in service, Boeing would have "risk-sharing partners" deliver complete aircraft sections to the final assembly site.
787 program managers and employees implicitly understood this new production method, and we cautiously believed it might work. But it began to unravel bit by bit and ended in a three-year delay.
I wondered why we were accepting substandard work on 787
I was a project manufacturing engineer for the 787, creating work instructions, and a liaison manufacturing engineer, working on the shop floor to resolve issues with existing work instructions.
At the beginning of each new airplane program, program leadership and supply chain management divided major sections of the aircraft among various subcontractors, suppliers, and risk-sharing "partners." When suppliers were late in delivering their components or delivered them incomplete, this became "traveled work," which had to be completed by Boeing employees during final assembly.
I spent much of my time on the program trying to accommodate parts that had a "non-conformance" tag on them and had to be reworked and installed into the build.
I wondered what was going on and why we were accepting substandard, incomplete work.
As an engineer, I wasn't privy to the decisions going on in the upper chambers of management, but I could see the chaos filtering down. It felt like the company wasn't listening to its mechanics about how to improve processes.
I remember group meetings where employees, including myself, questioned decisions by management and offered constructive criticism that was politely but bluntly blown off.
The 787 was sadly delayed three years.
Confusing supply chains seem to still cause problems
In 2024, there was an incident with a Boeing 737 Max plane, where a door plug blew out after take off.
Although I retired in 2017, I think this was caused by mismanagement of traveled repair work. The plug door was manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems, a Boeing subsidiary that was sold off in 2005.
An investigation found that because the part 737MAX9 fuselage is shipped in whole, mechanics at Boeing rarely work on the plug doors. When the plug door frame had to be repaired and the plug door replaced, two separate groups of mechanics working on the door made mistakes.
As a result, a plug door malfunctioned, and Boeing's reputation was damaged alongside it, causing the FAA to increase its oversight of 737MAX9 planes' production processes.
It's always disappointing when the company you worked for makes major news headlines for a mistake. However, it doesn't change my general opinion of Boeing. I know there are many dedicated employees who are committed to doing their jobs properly and safely.
Boeing is taking baby steps in the right direction
I still know some Boeing employees and followed the recent strike. I think employees have gotten a good package, but they didn't get a return to the legacy defined-benefit pension plan. When I retired, I still benefited from the traditional pension plan and also had a 401(k).
Back in 2014, Boeing promised employees that they'd build the 777-9 in Washington. Part of the strike package is also building the next new plane in Washington. These promises show that Boeing management is waking up to the matter of outsourcing.
Boeing is also bringing Spirit AeroSystems, which it sold in 2005, back in-house. All the workers will be merged back under one camp.
The lines of communication between two in-house teams are often simpler and more direct than with a supplier.When I was on the 777 program in the 1990s, I would call my counterparts at the Wichita site to resolve issues and exchange information. I couldn't do this with a supplier because all communication had to be through supply chain management.
I think this shows Boeing acknowledging it went down a bad path when it sold the supplier.
I see these actions as baby steps in the right direction. Kelly Ortberg, Boeing's CEO, is trying to steer the company on a new course, but I think it's going to take a long time.
Editor's note: In response to Business a request for comment from Business Insider, a Boeing spokesperson highlighted remarks by CEO Kelly Ortberg during the company's third quarter report:
"Much has been written about how we got to where we are, but most also recognize that Boeing was once a benchmark for what good culture looks like. And I believe we can return to that legacy. I know culture change starts at the top. Our leaders, from me on down, need to be closely integrated with our business and the people who are doing the design and production of our products. We need to be on the factory floors, in the back shops, and in our engineering labs. We need to know what's going on, not only with our products but with our people."
A flight operated by Ryanair subsidiary Lauda Air had two aborted landings after its GPS signal jammed.
The Airbus A320 was flying to Vienna but had to be diverted to Brno in the neighboring Czech Republic.
GPS jamming, causing navigation issues, has increased since 2022, especially in the Baltics.
A flight was diverted after aborting two attempts to land when the aircraft's GPS signal was disrupted.
The incident occurred on a flight operated by Lauda Air, a subsidiary of Ryanair, between the Latvian capital Riga and Vienna on December 30.
The plane, an Airbus A320, attempted two landings in Austria's capital city before being diverted to Brno in the Czech Republic, data from Flightradar24 shows.
Die Presse, one of Austria's largest newspapers, was the first outlet to report on the incident. It said that the captain on board the plane made an announcement to passengers about a minor technical problem when trying to land in Vienna.
When the flight successfully landed in Brno, the captain explained that the aircraft's GPS devices had become jammed.
Generally, the system reboots itself after jamming, but as the plane approached Vienna, per Die Presse, this did not happen.
Jamming is an intentional radio frequency interference with global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that prevents planes from accessing satellite signals and makes the GNSS system "ineffective or degraded," the European Union Aviation Safety Agency says.
Per Die Presse, the captain said that because of poor visibility, it was safer to avoid landing in Vienna while the GPS faced interference. He said the weather was better in Brno.
A spokesperson from Ryanair told Business Insider that flight FR748 from Riga to Vienna on Monday, December 30 "diverted to Brno due to a minor tech issue with the GPS system combined with low visibility (fog) at Vienna."
"The aircraft landed normally at Brno at 22.52 local, where there was no issue with visibility, and passengers were transported by coach to Vienna. We sincerely apologise to passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of this diversion."
Since 2022, there has been a rise in planes experiencing issues with their satellite navigation systems over the Baltics. Officials have suggested that Russia may be to blame.
The flight β operating from Bucharest in Romania to Switzerland's Zurich on December 23 β made an emergency diversion to Graz in southern Austria after engine problems led smoke to spread through the plane, according to a press release by the airline.
The member of staff, who has not been named publicly, was airlifted to a hospital in Graz, where he was put into intensive care. He died on Monday, December 30.
"We are devastated at our dear colleague's death," Swiss CEO Jens Fehlinger said in a statement.
"We stand with one another at this truly difficult time; and we will be doing our utmost, together with the relevant authorities, to determine the causes involved," Oliver Buchhofer, the airline's chief operating officer added.
"We have many questions, and we want them answered," he added.
All 74 passengers on board the Airbus A220 were evacuated, and twelve received medical attention. All five crew members were placed under medical care.
"Our teams of experts are working hard over the festive season to evaluate all the facts and findings available, and are in close contact with the authorities," the airline said in a statement about the investigations into the incident.
The focus of the investigation is on the mechanical parts of the aircraft β like the engine β and the protective breathing equipment available to the cabin crew.
SWISS announced it was working with the relevant authorities, the engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, and the aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
"The initial findings point to a technical problem in one of the engines," it said in the press release, but the cause of the smoke has not yet been conclusively determined.
A special flight from Graz to Zurich was organized on the morning of Christmas Eve to get passengers to their destination.
There were 24 reports of symptoms consistent with food poisoning, according to the Association of Flight Attendants.
JanValls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images
Some United Airlines employees at Denver International Airport fell ill after a holiday meal.
The Association of Flight Attendants reported there were 24 cases of food poisoning symptoms.
United Airlines is monitoring the situation and coordinating with health authorities.
Dozens of United Airlines employees at Denver International Airport fell ill after eating a meal provided by the airline on Christmas Day.
According to a letter from the Association of Flight Attendants, representing United workers in Denver and Phoenix, a total of 492 meals were served to flight attendants. Of those, there were 24 reports of symptoms connected to food poisoning.
Denver7 spoke with one flight attendant who said he felt sick and started to experience nausea and diarrhea shortly after eating the holiday plate of food. The employee said many of his colleagues who ate the meal were also ill afterward.
He told Denver7 that United Airlines has a strict policy requiring staff to submit a doctor's note within 48 hours when they call in sick during the holiday period.
A spokesperson from United Airlines told Business Insider: "United is monitoring reports from some employees about gastrointestinal symptoms following holiday meals served to Denver employees last Wednesday, and we are in contact with health authorities. There has been no impact on our operation."
The AFA initially reported that around 200 employees had been sick after eating the meal on Christmas Day, however, it said in its later letter that the actual number of reports was substantially lower.
"We recognize that there may be some who decided to "power through" or who may have been apprehensive about calling in sick over the holiday period, or who may have been on their way home and therefore did not miss work.
The union wrote that if staff had to call in sick and believe it was because of the meal, they should email their supervisor explaining they are among those with symptoms and that any points associated with the absence should be removed.
Although the letter said "there is no way to know for sure" if these were cases of food poisoning as there are viruses circulating that produce similar symptoms, management at the airport would keep monitoring the issue.
Mick West, an expert in unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, analyzes recent "drone" sightings and breaks down what we're really seeing in these selected cases.
The First Officer suddenly became ill on a Westjet flight from Calgary to Vancouver, but luckily there was an off-duty pilot on board.
Alex Walker/Getty Images
An off-duty pilot stepped in to help fly a Boeing 737 after the first office was taken ill.
The off-duty pilot was a passenger on a Westjet flight from Calgary to Vancouver.
Pilots are trained for emergencies, and flights always have multiple pilots for safety.
An off-duty pilot stepped in and helped to fly and land a Boeing 737 when the flight's first officer was suddenly incapacitated mid-flight.
The transportation website Paddle Your Own Kanoo first reported that the incident took place on a WestJet flight from Calgary to Vancouver on the morning of December 4.
The off-duty pilot was known to the crew and could be called upon to assist in flying the Boeing 737. The pilot then sat in the cabin for the rest of the flight.
"During cruise, the first officer reported feeling ill and was unable to continue their duties. One of the passengers on board was a Westjet pilot who was able to assume the first officer's duties," a preliminary report from the Canadian Transportation Safety Board said, per the Aviation Herald.
"The incapacitated first officer sat in the cabin for the remainder of the flight. The flight crew did not declare an emergency or request a priority handling. The aircraft landed without further incident," the report added.
WestJet did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on the incident.
If a pilot is taken ill, airlines normally declare an emergency and land the plane as soon as possible.
Retired US pilots Kent Davis and Mark Stephens previously told Business Insider that it is "not a big deal" when pilots become unwell during a flight because they are trained to handle these situations.
Stephens said there are at least two pilots on domestic flights, while international flights can have two pilots and two captains.
"Pilots know what they are doing, and they do it repeatedly," he said.
Sometimes, pilots become more seriously ill. In July, an Airbus A320 from London Luton to Lisbon, which was carrying almost 200 passengers, was met by paramedics on landing after the copilot fainted in midair.
"The captain landed the flight routinely in line with procedures and passengers disembarked normally," an airline spokesperson told BI at the time. "At no point was the safety of the flight compromised."
In October, it was reported that a Turkish Airlines captain died in midair on a flight from Seattle to Istanbul, and the plane was diverted for an emergency landing in New York.
"After the initial medical intervention on board proved ineffective, the cockpit crew, consisting of one captain and one co-pilot, decided to make an emergency landing," an airline spokesperson said at the time.
One pilot named Ken Allen told BI he suffered an aneurysm while flying a small plane with a friend and one passenger. He fell unconscious, and the passenger managed to safely land the plane instead.
Stephens, one of the retired US pilots, told BI that there are procedures in place for life-threatening situations. Flight attendants are trained in CPR and have defibrillators, and many planes have a direct line to medical staff.
Boeing has restarted production of its 737, 767, and 777/777X aircraft models again after a lengthy strike.
China News Service/Getty Images
Boeing has resumed the production of the 767 and 777 as it gets back online after a lengthy strike.
Following the end of the strike, the aviation giant had already restarted 737 production.
Boeing has had a troubled 2024 after a midair blowout in January shone a light on its quality control.
Boeing has resumed its production across its range of aircraft in the Pacific Northwest factories as it gets back online following its lengthy and costly strike.
The aviation giant, which had already resumed production of its 737 Max jets, has now restarted building the 767 and 777 models again, Stephanie Pope, Boeing's COO and the CEO and president of its commercial planes division, said in a LinkedIn post.
The news follows an announcement last week that Boeing would commit $1 billion to its 787 Dreamliner manufacturing plant in South Carolina.
"Our teammates have worked methodically to warm up our factories in the Pacific Northwest, using Boeing's Safety Management System to identify and address potential issues and ensure a safe and orderly restart," she wrote in the post.
The aircraft manufacturing giant hopes to ramp up production in what has been a difficult year. In January, an Alaska Airlines flight lost a door plug during a flight, injuring several passengers and resulting in an emergency landing.
The incident highlighted Boeing's production processes and led to questions about its quality control, which led then-CEO Dave Calhoun to resign.
Boeing was also hit with several lawsuits related to the Alaska Airlines incident, as well as facing renewed scrutiny over two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
Boeing now has a backlog of around 5,400 commercial aircraft worth roughly $428 billion.
"We have taken time to ensure all manufacturing teammates are current on training and certifications, while positioning inventory at the optimal levels for smooth production," Pope said in the post.
"As we move forward, we will closely track our production health performance indicators and focus on delivering safe, high-quality airplanes on time to our customers," she added.
Hong Kong to Taipei was the busiest international flight route in 2024, according to an OAG report.
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Hong Kong-Taipei was the busiest international flight route in 2024, with 6.8 million seats.
OAG's report shows Asia-Pacific dominates the busiest international routes post-pandemic.
The busiest domestic route was between the South Korean island of Jeju and its capital, Seoul.
Hong Kong to Taipei is the world's busiest international flight route, according to a report published on Tuesday by air travel intelligence provider OAG.
The route has topped the list in 2024, with a total of 6.8 million seats β 48% higher than last year but 15% below 2019 levels, when it last appeared at the top of the list.
OAG's annual report, which examines global airline schedule data spanning from January to December 2024 and compares it to 2019 β before the COVID-19 pandemic β found that most of the busiest international routes are in the Asia-Pacific region.
The second most popular, with 5.5 million seats, was from Cairo to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The only route on the list in North America and Europe was between New York JFK and London Heathrow, which was ranked number 10 with 4 million seats, a 5% increase compared to 2019.
Here's the full top 10 list:
Hong Kong to Taipei: 6.78 million seats
Cairo to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: 5.47 million seats
Seoul to Tokyo: 5.41 million seats
Kuala Lumpur to Singapore: 5.38 million seats
Seoul to Osaka: 4.98 million seats
Dubai to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 4.31 million seats
Bangkok to Hong Kong: 4.20 million seats
Jakarta to Singapore: 4.07 million seats
Bangkok to Singapore: 4.03 million seats
New York JFK to London Heathrow: 4.01 million seats
Domestic airline routes were significantly busier than international ones.
The busiest route overall is in South Korea, a roughly 280-mile journey between the island of Jeju and Seoul's Gimpo airport. The route provided over 14 million seats in 2024, which, despite being the world's busiest, was a 19% fall compared to pre-pandemic numbers.
Per the OAG report, eight of the 10 busiest domestic flight routes were in Asia, including flights in Japan, China, India, and Vietnam.
No routes in North America or Europe were ranked in the top 10. The most popular route in North America connected Vancouver to Toronto, with 3.5 million seats.
The busiest domestic route in the United States was Atlanta-Orlando, which trailed slightly behind the Canadian route with just under 3.5 million seats in 2024.
Honolulu-Kahului ranked third in North America with 3.4 million seats. It was followed by Las Vegas-Los Angeles and a route connecting Denver to Phoenix.
In Europe, the top route was Barcelona to Palma in Spain, which had nearly 3 million seats. Half of Europe's busiest 10 routes were in Spain, OAG said.
The mystery object flying overhead might be an airplane, not a mystery drone. In New Jersey's case, many airplanes pass overhead on their journeys to and from the New York City region.
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Mysterious drones over the US East Coast have sparked concern and skepticism among locals.
Officials said many of the reported sightings are "actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully."
You can use websites like FlightRadar24 and ADS-B Exchange to check some of the aircraft overhead.
Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security told reporters over the weekend that they were still investigating the events but had no evidence the aircraft posed a threat to the publicor was connected to a foreign adversary.
A mystery drone seen at night over New York on December 12.
Grant Parpan/Newsday RM via Getty Images
The uncertainty and contradictions, plus a social media rumor mill, have prompted some people to point to every moving object in the sky as a possible drone sighting.
But not everything flying overhead is an anomaly. National security officials have repeatedly stressed that many of the reported drone sightings are "actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully."
This points to commercial, military, or general aviation aircraft, and there are free, public ways to check for yourself.
Many airplanes can be spotted using FAA data
The Federal Aviation Administration handles 45,000 flights every day, with some 5,400 commercial planes flying in the sky at once during peak travel times.
Most commercial planes can be tracked via free websites like FlightAware and Flightradar24 because they use FAA data. With these tools, you can confidently say the Boeing and Airbus planes that take off from the highly congested New York City airports every day aren't more mystery drones.
For example, on the FlightAware or Flightradar24 website or app, you can search for New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, airport code "EWR," to see all of the planes overhead.
The websites also provide data like aircraft type, location, speed, altitude, and operator.
A screenshot showing Flightradar24 data of an American Airlines flight that took off from Newark on Monday.
Flightradar24
You can also spot a commercial plane based on where it's flying, as airliners use specific flight paths when heading into and out of NYC.
A large number of them fly along the New Jersey coast, so if you see low-altitude flashing lights in the night sky heading northbound, for example, it's quite likely a passenger airplane landing.
Flight paths can differ depending on the route and winds, but flight-tracking websites can give you the best idea of what's flying overhead.
Federal regulations prevent commercial and recreational drones from operating too close to an airport or flying higher than 400 feet unless authorized.
Some hidden aircraft can be tracked via ADS-B Exchange
Using flight paths and tracking websites doesn't eliminate all of the potential aircraft that could be flying overhead β it simply identifies an aircraft as an airliner.
However, people can use a free website called ADS-B Exchange to filter for military and private aircraft that are blocked from websites that use FAA data.
A screenshot of the ADS-B Exchange website showing aircraft using FAA programs to block their data from FlightAware and Flightradar24.
Still, military aircraft, including drones, can turn off their ADS-B software to maintain stealth or secrecy, meaning they can't be seen using free and public websites. Drones with sinister motives β the kinds officials have said they aren't concerned about with these sightings β assumably also would not use public transponders.
Many general aviation aircraft used for personal use β some of which are smaller, fly much slower, and could be mistaken for a drone or unidentified aircraft β are also not equipped with ADS-B and could be another unidentifiable object in the night sky.
Drones are quieter, with similar but different lighting
Nearly 800,000 commercial and recreational drones are registered with the FAA. There are a few easy ways to visually distinguish a drone from an airplane.
Most drones and airplanes both have four lights β though lighting on a drone will usually be in a square pattern, while an airplane has lights on both wings, the nose, and the tail.
The aircraft lights on a Frontier Airbus aircraft flying at night.
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Most drones will also have red or white anti-collision lights for use at night, though many will be red and green for easier operation. The wing lights on airplanes are also red and green.
Observers can use sound and movement as indicators if lighting doesn't help identify an airplane.
Drones commonly hover or whip quickly in different directions, which are not characteristics of airplanes. Drones also usually emit a buzz or hum noise from their rotors, while passenger aircraft engines have a distinctively louder sound.
Former FBI supervisory special agent Tom Adams told CNN on Friday that some of these reported drones could be people flying their own drones to hype up coverage. He added the sightings may have a simple answer.
"I can tell you from my firsthand experience conducting operations for the FBI, as well as investigations into the suspected sighting of drones at critical infrastructure, it was fairly common for planets, crewed aircraft, and even low Earth orbit satellites to be misidentified as drones at night," Adams said.
Flight attendants will reportedly start preparing the cabin for landing at 18,000 feet rather than 10,000 feet.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Southwest Airlines is reportedly set to end cabin service earlier in a bid to reduce flight attendant injuries.
The change would see cabin landing preparations begin at 18,000 feet rather than 10,000 feet.
It comes amid increasing reports of turbulence-related injuries.
Southwest Airlines is reportedly set to end cabin service earlier from December 4 in a move designed to help prevent injuries to its flight attendants.
Flight attendants will begin landing preparations at 18,000 feet rather than 10,000 feet going forward, the company said in an internal memo seen by View From the Wing.
The memo said that an evaluation of data from reports by pilots and flight attendants and information from the Flight Data Analysis Program suggested that seating staff sooner should reduce injuries by at least 20%.
"If we do not achieve the desired result, we will continue to find solutions," the memo said. "We are also committed to sharing updates on these findings periodically."
For passengers, the change means the usual pre-landing checklist β carry-on luggage stowed, window shades up, and seats and tables upright β will need to be completed sooner.
The memo says pilots will announce the beginning of the descent phase to the cabin before making a chime at 18,000 feet to signal the start of the sterile flight deck β a period when flight crew members should not be disturbed except for emergencies.
"This chime serves as your cue to secure the cabin for landing and to be seated and secured in your jumpseats," it says.
The World Economic Forum has said that from 2009 to 2023, 37 passengers and 146 crew members were seriously injured as a result of turbulence.
American Airlines has a new tactic for shaming boarding line cutters: A loud beeper. CNBC reports that the airline is rolling out a system that emits two loud beeps when a traveler tries to get on an airplane before their boarding group is called. As of Wednesday, the new tech was in over 100 airports [β¦]
