Rudders are overrated.
It’s hard to decide if this more likely falls on Boeing or United. For now, I’m going with “both”.
I was at Lockheed when they merged with Martin Marietta in 1995. It was the joining of two vastly different companies that approached the same challenges from very different vantages. But, they both had safety and long-term customer relationship at the core, even over short term shareholder value generation knowing that that ethos would generate long term shareholder value. It was a true merger of equals where execs from both units were retained and the individual ethos was allowed to percolate into the new joint company.
So, the merger was wildly successful. The following year when we bought Loral, and their stable of absolute geniuses, it was clear that it was an acquisition vs. a merger but everyone had such respect for the engineering brilliance of their people that we all welcomed them in with open arms, knowing we’d be better for it.
When the Boeing / McDonald Douglass merger talks started in late 1996, everyone just sort of scratched their heads and thought, “that’ll never work”. They (and Wall Street) were dazzled by the LMCO successes in M&A and thought it was as easy as just squishing two large enterprises together and the magic just happens. A classic MBA / CFO financial-first failing. Not one of them thought to ask about all the unseen work behind the scenes at LMCO that generated that success. And, that whole industry is worse off because of that outsized financial management influence at that one company.
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The orcas agree.
Video in the link.
Also, a United 737 departing Houston had to turn around today because of a fire on board.
Sorry for partying.
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I assume that the rudder jam on the Newark bound flight was only temporary and was resolved before landing. Otherwise we would’ve heard a lot more about it.
United/Boeing having quite a week:
Fuck me! Is being complete shit finally catching up with United?
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – A United Airlines jet headed to Mexico City from San Francisco on Friday made an emergency landing in Los Angeles due to an issue with the aircraft’s hydraulic system, officials said.
They’re lucky not to have killed a bunch of people this week.
My son and I flew United just this evening. No dropped tires, no fires, no taxiing through the grass, no systemic failures requiring emergency landings. I’m thinking about demanding a refund.
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It’s only Monday.
The “Screamliner” is back, baby!
At least the pilots bothered to stay awake:
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Smisek immediately moving the HQ to Chicago made it very clear very early.
In Indonesia, that’s called Tuesday.
The only airline I was allowed to fly in Indonesia was Garuda. Specifically, I could not fly Batik/Lion Air. That’s probably why.
Since we’re taking conspiracy theories…or at least SOME people embrace them…
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There is a notion in optimization as to an “interior solution” and it has an application in Social Darwinism and the notion that if, say, people are not dying in the streets then welfare programs are too generous. Everything has a relative price. Management is tuned into this.
Conspiracy theorize all you want.
Leave the bigotry elsewhere.
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And with that, feel free to go the fuck away.
I missed that in all the bigotry against those who oppose Biden.