The Boeing boss received $33 million in compensation in 2023, but refused to receive a bonus of $2.8 million after an in-flight incident on an Alaska Airlines plane in early 2024.
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David Calhoun, who is set to step down as CEO at the end of the year, received a base salary of $1.4 million plus the equivalent of more than $30 million in stock, according to the annual report of the American aircraft manufacturer published Friday evening.
But, “as a result of the Alaska Airlines accident, Mr. Calhoun declined any prospect of receiving an annual incentive bonus, and the board of directors accepted this request,” Boeing said in this document.
On January 5, a cap holder on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 detached from the cabin in flight, causing only minor injuries.
This incident, which followed a series of production problems throughout 2023 and other concerns on aircraft in operation, notably led to the launch by the United States Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) of an audit of the aircraft manufacturer’s quality control.
And, on March 25, the group announced the departure of Mr. Calhoun at the end of 2024, as part of a broader reshuffle at the head of the aircraft manufacturer.
He was appointed to recover Boeing after the crash of two 737 MAX 8s, due to design defects, in 2018 and 2019 (346 deaths).
The Alaska Airlines accident “shows that Boeing still has a lot of work to do,” recognizes the manufacturer in its annual report.
“But the board believes that Mr. Calhoun responded to this event in the right way, taking responsibility for the accident, engaging transparently and proactively with regulators and customers, and taking significant action to strengthen Boeing’s quality control,” he continued.
In addition, the manufacturer has modified its long-term compensation and bonus program for 2024 to take into account the incident of January 5.
Thus, in particular, the bonus planned for the general director in the event of the achievement of certain objectives was lowered by 38% to 17 million dollars.
