Boeing names new CEO as it posts $2.2 billion loss

Boeing has lost more than $US1.4 billion ($A2.2 billion) in the second quarter and says a longtime industry executive will take over as chief executive of the troubled aircraft manufacturer next week.

Robert “Kelly” Ortberg, 64, a former CEO at Rockwell Collins, will succeed as CEO, the company said on Wednesday.

Boeing’s loss was wider and revenue lower than Wall Street expected.

Revenue fell 15 per cent from a year earlier, and both its commercial-aeroplanes business and defence unit lost money.

The disappointing results come at a tumultuous time for Boeing.

The company agreed to plead guilty to fraud in connection with the Max, two of which crashed, killing 346 people.

The Federal Aviation Administration has increased its oversight of the company following mistakes including the blowout of a panel on an Alaska Airlines jet.

It is pushing back against whistleblower allegations of manufacturing shortcuts that crimp on safety.

The company is dealing with supply-chain problems that are hindering production, which it hopes to fix in part by re-acquiring Spirit AeroSystems, a key contractor.

It is still trying to persuade regulators to approve two new models of the Max and a bigger version of its two-aisle 777 jetliner.

And it faces a multibillion-dollar decision on when to design a new single-aisle plane to replace the Max.

Ortberg would become CEO and president on August 8, Boeing said.

He emerged as a leading candidate only recently.

Others who were reportedly considered for the job included Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive and now CEO of its most important supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, and another longtime Boeing executive, Stephanie Pope, who recently took over the commercial aeroplanes division.

Chairman Steven Mollenkopf said Ortberg was chosen after “a thorough and extensive search process” and “has the right skills and experience to lead Boeing in its next chapter”.

Mollenkopf said Ortberg has earned a reputation for running complex engineering and manufacturing companies.