Boeing: We Have Serious Concerns

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Published: Mon, March 10, 2008 - 2:29 pm
ST. LOUIS, March 10, 2008 -- As the deadline nears for a decision on whether to protest a U.S. Air Force contract award for the next refueling tanker aircraft, officials at Boeing spent the weekend evaluating with growing concern the information provided by the Air Force during a Friday debriefing.

"As we have gone through this process it has become clearer that this competition was much closer than has been reported, and that raises the stakes if the process was flawed and unfair in any way," said Mark McGraw, Boeing vice president and program manager for tanker programs. "We have serious concerns over inconsistency in requirements, cost factors and treatment of our commercial data."

As Boeing enters the final phase of its evaluation, the company is taking exception to reports that the Air Force had not received adequate commercial pricing data from the company. "It was clear from the Request for Proposals that the Air Force was seeking a commercial derivative tanker. However, by treating the Boeing offering as a military aircraft, the process by which the commercial cost/price data provided by Boeing Commercial Airplanes was evaluated has raised significant concerns," McGraw said. "We provided unprecedented insight into Boeing commercial cost/price data that had been developed over 50 years of building commercial aircraft. We believe this data was treated differently than our competitor's information.

"It is also important to note that the task of assembling and presenting this commercial data to the Air Force demonstrates the value of cooperation on this program within one company," McGraw added. "This is in sharp contrast to the higher risk involved in two companies from different countries and business cultures who have never worked together on a program of this size before."

Boeing is also responding to assertions that the company somehow misread Air Force requirements for the new tanker. "Our proposal was based on the stated criteria in the Air Force's Request for Proposal, with a specific focus on providing operational tanker capability at low risk and the lowest total life cycle cost," McGraw said. "We stand by our offering and believe that it did, and continues to, best meet the requirements.

"We take a protest very seriously," McGraw said. "For decades, Boeing has been recognized as a defense company that never takes lightly protests of our customers' decisions. We are following a very rigorous and deliberative process to ensure that we are comfortable that the evaluation was fair, and that ultimately it resulted in the tanker that is best suited to meet the needs of the warfighter."

ulriche
I have a question for you.  If Boeing currently has a huge backlog like you stated in your post, then why should we let them build this?  It will take them forever to deliver the tankers.  Plus if Boeing is selling this many planes then they should do just fine without this contract.

Posted by asda on 03/12/08 - 11:05 am • Report Abuse   

Travis Fairlane --- It would have been John McCain that exposed the corruption of Boeing --- Check your facts

Posted by asda on 03/12/08 - 11:03 am • Report Abuse   

Further more if the EADS aircraft is the supreme aircraft, why hasn’t France placed any orders? Look up what they are flying your going to laugh!  Well I save you non-believers some time. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Air_Force#Aircraft_inventory
AND YES THEY FLY THE BEST BOEING, AND SO DO THE OTHER COUNTRIES WHO MAKE THE A330. IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN PRODUCT AND SUPPORT IT WHY SHOULD THE UNITED STATES OF ALL BE THE GUINNY PIGS FOR AN UNPROVEN PRODUCT. 78 TEST REFUELINGS DO NOT COMPARE WITH 75YRS OF EXPEIRENCE AND OVER MILLIONS OF FLIGHT HOURS OF BOEING TANKERS. IF IT’S NOT BOEING, I’M NOT GOING.
I’m done, time will tell, which choice was correct.

Posted by ulriche on 03/12/08 - 10:10 am • Report Abuse   

Cameo, it has been 2 days and you still can’t fine your source. You no what people have to keep an open mind and not make up stuff to support your own rhetoric. If you had followed this since the beginning and not since the contract announcement you might have a different opinion. You know Wal-Mart has become what it is today by brain-washing people with their slogan(Stay American, Buy American) this has made them a monopoly, yet that slogan has not been used since the early 90’s when they sold out to China overnight and now just try to fine one thing made in America in that place. Yes Boeing does outsource work; they have to if they want to stay competitive with Airbus who receives hundreds of millions of dollars from government subsidies. Look it up? Its either farm out the work or close the doors, further more Europe is the biggest spender for Boeing.  With more than 60% of the current back orders for aircraft.  Some work should be entitle to countries that are spending millions on our p

Posted by ulriche on 03/12/08 - 9:57 am • Report Abuse   

I agree, Boeing has their head in a bag. It’s called shame.

Posted by bobcat on 03/11/08 - 10:21 pm • Report Abuse   

Boeing still has it in the bag. Based on merits. The AF has their fingers crossed that Boeing gets their rightful contract back. That includes the evaluators. Clearly corruption came from elsewhere but then it grew. From the leaks, it is clear it came from Alabama - NG and Politicians.

Posted by Travis Fairlane on 03/11/08 - 9:17 pm • Report Abuse   

I guess they like egg on their face.  Here Boeing, you can wipe it off with this muffin.  And since you’re being a baby, here’s some pudding too .  But dont ask to play with the planes anymore because you try to cheat and then expect something for it.  shame. shame. shame.

Posted by bobcat on 03/10/08 - 10:43 pm • Report Abuse   

cameo, and they said that when?

Posted by ulriche on 03/10/08 - 6:15 pm • Report Abuse   

Before the contract was awarded Boeing was saying “ who ever gets this contract should just go ahead and build the tankers with out any protests.” Guess that is because they thought that they had it in the bag.

Posted by cameo on 03/10/08 - 4:54 pm • Report Abuse   

As professional of a company as Boeing presents themself to be, I would have expected them to be able to swallow a little disappointment.  If they wanted to ensure their company kept the contract, they shouldnt have had such deep pockets.  My humble opinion is they thought they had it in the bag and now that they find the contract going elsewhere they are pitching a firstclass tantrum.

Posted by ethansmuma on 03/10/08 - 4:50 pm • Report Abuse   


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