American aircraft manufacturer Boeing has spent 1.8 million euros on private flights for top managers since 2021. That is 500,000 euros more than initially indicated. A lot of money for a company with bad credentials.
Being a top Boeing executive comes with some interesting perks. Including even private flights for personal travel. The company’s four top executives will even be reimbursed for their lodging, meals and on-site transportation.
Since 2021, Boeing has spent no less than 1.8 million euros on such pleasure trips. That is 500,000 euros more than initially announced, according to research by the Wall Street Journal. The reported costs are only the marginal costs to Boeing such as fuel, crew travel expenses, inflight meals, and so on. The costs of the company aircraft or crew salaries are not included.
Incentive premium
One of the executives is CEO Dave Calhoun, who announced last month that he will leave the company this year. Calhoun’s private trips alone cost Boeing more than 900,000 euros.
The research of Wall Street Journal further revealed that Calhoun’s total compensation for 2023 was more than 30 million euros, an increase of 45 percent compared to 2022. Calhoun did decline his annual incentive bonus, which would have earned him an additional 2.6 million euros. He did this after a door of a Boeing 737 Max flew open during an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5.
The announcement of the figures comes at a time when the aircraft manufacturer is going through tough times due to a series of safety incidents. It has led to investigations and a management reorganization.
Boeing has been in bad shape for several years, since fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in 346 deaths. The company was also hit hard by the corona pandemic. In 2020, Boeing suffered a net loss of 578 million euros, which was the first loss since 1997. The red figures are expected to continue.