CDR’s Aviation Editor, Joetey Attariwala, recently met with Al Meinzinger, the former Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the newly appointed President of Boeing Canada, for a wide-ranging discussion about service to country, transition to industry, and priorities for Boeing Canada. Here is that conversation.

CDR: What was the highlight of your time in the RCAF, and what has been the biggest revelation to you in your transition from uniform life to civilian life?

Al Meinzinger: It is obviously a privilege and an honour to serve in uniform, and I was very lucky to have been with the RCAF team for so long. After I retired, I had time to reflect on my career trajectory and the many personal memories and highlights that will always be with me.

I think a career in the Air Force provides you with an amazing opportunity to learn and grow and I made some great friendships that, at the end of the day, will be foundational to my retired life. I served on a couple of deployed missions during my career in Haiti and Afghanistan which helped me gain a real appreciation for how fortunate we are to live in such a great country.

The RCAF is an incredible Air Force because it has a remarkable team of operators, maintenance and support personnel. Everyone plays a role in achieving mission success. You and I have talked previously, Joetey, on the theme of agility being at the heart of our Air Force, and I observed this quality on a regular basis on operations in Canada and abroad. I witnessed the incredible RCAF response to the Kabul air evacuation, to complex air operations in Mali, to executing challenging and risky SAR [search and rescue] operations almost daily.

Our response and efforts during the pandemic were exceptional in my view. The team continued to maintain SAR and the NORAD readiness posture while protecting the force at all costs, manufacturing masks at one point and introducing agile and unique force protection measures that allowed us to continue to conduct operations. The work the RCAF team undertook with respect to personnel related issues involving retention, innovation and the stand-up of a new RCAF Space Division was exemplary.

In terms of my transition, I was thankfully assisted by a transition coach who became my battle-buddy as I prepared to leave the Air Force. Mr. Dwayne Cormier helped me think about the process of transition and prepared me for a second career.

Boeing is an iconic company with over a century of partnership in Canada. In my new role I’m able to lead an effort that has meaning and purpose with a company that is really aligned with my leadership philosophy and values. So, I suppose working with Boeing allows me to serve Canada in a different manner.

CDR: What prompted you to seek a second career in industry?

Al Meinzinger: I really enjoyed my time in uniform. When I retired, I did take some time off — I traveled, relaxed, and I reflected with my family. It was important to be deliberate in my second career journey as I thought about a more full-time reality in industry. I felt it was important to attach to a company that I believed in, and a company that was very much focused on the future. While it’s only been a few months, I’ve been pleased with my decision to join Boeing to help the company navigate forward.

I’ve enjoyed all of my interactions with the Boeing team to date. My boss is Dr. Brendan Nelson, the President of Boeing Global. He’s an exceptional leader as are the various Boeing site leaders across Canada.

Boeing is a company that values the views and opinions of the team, where individual voices are encouraged. Boeing has an important philosophy called Seek, Speak & Listen, which encourages everyone around the table or the shop floor to be embraced for their ideas, their thoughts and their concerns. This approach really reminds me of the work we were undertaking inside the Air Force, to flatten the organization and ensure a strong level of communication and trust at all levels. I appreciate this similar approach in Boeing.

BOEING’S REPUTATION IN CANADA

CDR: We all know that Boeing has suffered reputational damage and increased scrutiny over the last few years. So, talk to me about that in conjunction with your thoughts of joining the company.

Al Meinzinger: I was pleased to join Boeing given the quality of the team, and for the mission and the values of the company. Boeing is a company with such a significant history — it helped bring humanity into the jet age post-World War II and played a key role in getting humans to the moon many decades ago.

Reflecting on my military career, I always enjoyed my interactions with Boeing employees, whether that was speaking to field service reps on deployed operations or with Boeing employees at trade shows. These interactions were always mission focused and very professional. In fact, my first flight was on a Boeing aircraft when I flew to Europe with my family on a military Boeing 707. It was, in fact, the same aircraft that transported me into Chilliwack, BC when I joined the military and started my military boot camp training. 

Boeing’s Canadian history is quite remarkable as is its longtime support of the CAF. This year we’re celebrating our 105^th anniversary of Boeing’s partnership in Canada, which all started back in 1919 when Bill Boeing took that famous flight delivering mail to Seattle from Vancouver — the first international airmail to the U.S. So certainly, to your question, while the company continues to work through current challenges, I have confidence in the Boeing team as we navigate forward.

CDR: So how do you plan to help restore the company’s reputation, at least in Canada?

Al Meinzinger: This is a really important question. Many actions have been taken to strengthen our safety and quality systems since the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident earlier this year. The company brought together over 70,000 teammates at sites across Boeing to execute quality stand-downs and allow for open conversations on the topic of safety and quality. This was a significant effort that generated over 30,000 ideas from the Boeing team on how we can improve.

Certainly, we understand why customers and the public have expressed concerns. Our focus is on continuing to build confidence. It’s really about setting the course, executing on change, and being transparent about it every step of the way. I appreciate, based on my experience leading the RCAF, that increased scrutiny from regulatory agencies and third parties, while perhaps uncomfortable in the moment, absolutely will make us better over the longer term. Boeing is supporting all NTSB and FAA efforts, and as a consequence, all of this critical work will make Boeing a stronger company.

CDR: What is your long-term vision for Boeing Canada under your leadership, and how do you plan to align that with Boeing’s global objectives?

Al Meinzinger: Boeing is a leading global aerospace company that develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defence products and even space systems, and we are present in more than 150 countries, so we are truly a global company. We leverage the talents of a massive global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability, and community impact.

What I am very proud of, and I didn’t appreciate until I took this job, is that Canada has an incredibly robust and talented supplier base of over 500 companies across the country. What I’ve witnessed to date is that Boeing’s diverse team is fully committed to innovating for the future, leading within the sustainability agenda, which I think is critically important, and genuinely cultivating a culture based on the company’s values. For Canada, as I think about the future, I hope Boeing will continue to be seen as a top OEM of choice, both for defence and commercial programs.

In my engagements to date, I have talked about the importance of bringing the best of Boeing to Canada, and that relates to some of the significant capabilities that Canada has purchased over the years. But I also think bringing the best of Canada to Boeing is equally important. There are many fantastic aerospace companies located here. I know having attended a number of events over the last few months, and having been approached by many Canadian companies, that there is a strong desire and interest in connecting to either the Boeing supply chain or being involved in broader discussions on future Industrial and Technological Benefit [ITB] opportunities. I’m really looking forward to seeing future growth in Canada as we move forward over the next three, to five to 10 years.

BOEING CANADA SITES AND WHAT THEY DO

CDR: This is a perfect time to ask about the footprint of Boeing Canada and talk about the outlook for growth in Canada.

Al Meinzinger: Boeing has a large presence in Canada — we have been here for over 100 years, and there are approximately 2,000 employees at 15 different sites across seven provinces. It’s a sizable footprint and one that I hope will continue to grow.

In Winnipeg, we have a very large composite manufacturing footprint that has been in the city for decades. I recently visited the site and was really impressed by the complex composite fabrication that the team oversees.

Boeing Vancouver is equally impressive. The team works to produce and deliver digital tools related to aviation software and services. It’s a very high-tech team that leverages the significant strengths that exist in BC.

From Ottawa, Trenton and Petawawa, we provide defence and sustainment support, largely to the Chinook and the C-17 fleets operated by the RCAF.

In Montreal, we have a Boeing subsidiary known as Wisk Aero. They are developing the first all-electric self-flying air taxi, and the Canadian portion of this entity is overseeing the complex engineering efforts. I had the opportunity to see the latest generation of this aircraft while I was in Farnborough, and it is going to be exciting to watch this effort move forward. In Montreal we also have the impressive Jeppesen team which is focused on building leading-edge aviation software and digital tools that help airline companies optimize their various planning and operational efforts.

CDR: Can you share your growth projections for maybe the next 10 years.

Al Meinzinger: While I don’t have any hard growth projections to share, some of the investments around the P-8 ITB program see Boeing Canada growth within our workforce. I was recently out west for a large ITB investment announcement at the Boeing Vancouver site in Richmond that highlighted some of that expected personnel growth.

TARGETING AEWC & FLIT

CDR: What are the key defence projects that Boeing Canada is intending to compete for?

Al Meinzinger: Our team has seen the recent Government of Canada announcements and commitments with respect to the Defence Policy Update from a few months ago and the announcement related to NORAD Modernization last year. These announcements are going to add additional capital spending plans into the overall plan for defence.

One example of these would be the recent project outlined in the Defence Policy Update known as the Airborne Early Warning and Control [AEWC] project. Canada is now looking for a platform that’s going to improve the RCAF’s ability to detect, track and prioritize airborne threats sooner, hopefully faster, and be better able to coordinate responses with the U.S. when required. I think this new capability, when procured, will allow Canada to make a more meaningful contribution to NORAD, while also potentially supporting allies and partners globally on international missions. We believe that the E-7A is a perfect fit for this requirement, and I think you’ve written about this, that the E-7 has been chosen by NATO and three of the five-eyes countries — the US, the UK and Australia. So, to answer your question, the AEWC project is one that we would see as a great opportunity for Boeing, and the company stands ready to respond at the right time.

I think there are a number of opportunities where Boeing can offer meaningful capability to the CAF, which of course, would include the T-7 within the Fighter Lead-In Training project. But there’s also others that we would see as possibilities, and we would expect that they will play out in the sequencing and the timing as laid out in Canada’s defence policy.

READ: BOEING’S P8-A POSEIDON 

81 BOEING SUPPLIERS ACROSS CANADA

CDR: How will the P-8 acquisition for Canada impact the Canadian economy and the aerospace industry in Canada?

Al Meinzinger: The P-8 is a top priority for Boeing, and I am really excited about this capability. As you know, this past February, the U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a contract to start manufacturing the fleet of P-8 Poseidon aircraft for the RCAF. The P-8 is an impressive long range patrol aircraft that will bring capability to CAF, enabling it to assert national sovereignty by patrolling approaches to North America. It will be a critical capability globally in supporting our allies and partners in expeditionary operations, such as the Op NEON mission that the CAF has undertaken in the Indo-Asia Pacific region around the Korean Peninsula.

In terms of impact in Canada, there are 81 Boeing suppliers across the country that support P-8 production. Each of the 170 P-8 aircraft that are in operation have approximately $11 million worth of Canadian content, which is significant. There have been over $2 billion in Canadian P-8 related contracts signed to date. Canada’s Team Poseidon is forming the cornerstone of our P-8 Canadian industry partnership and we are looking forward to the arrival of the first aircraft in Canada.

Associated with the aircraft purchase is the ITB program. It will deliver a diverse and enduring industrial participation opportunity that I believe will significantly increase Boeing Canada’s footprint and maximize Canadian industry involvement in areas such as supply chain resiliency, sustainable aviation, innovation and in-service support. Based on the assessment that we have undertaken, we believe that the ITB program, over the next 10 years, will support over 3,000 jobs here in Canada, and will add over $350 million per year to the Canadian economy. It is a sizable ITB program with significant benefits to Canada.

Boeing has always met its ITB obligations in Canada. We have collectively met obligations to the tune of $15+ billion dollars over the last number of decades, and we have delivered these ITB investments on time and on target. You may have noted some of the recent investment announcements. In Vancouver we announced sizable investments both in Boeing Vancouver, and also to an Indigenous led company called COTA Aviation. Earlier this year, we announced a $17 million investment towards the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies in Saskatoon to help the organization increase their throughput of trained technicians. Lastly, the almost quarter billion-dollar investment in Quebec aerospace innovation, announced in May, is going to help underwrite investments in Wisk Aero, the development of next generation technology landing gear at Héroux-Devtek, and support Aero Montreal led innovation in Montreal. Thus, all in all, we are delivering an exciting ITB program and stay tuned as there are more ITB announcements to come.

TEAM POSEIDON PARTNERS AND THEIR ROLES

CDR: I assume that means more definition as to what the Team Poseidon partners will do as part of their share of being in the Team, because right now that is somewhat ambiguous to the public.

Al Meinzinger: Some of it will depend on what part of the capability delivery phase we are in. There’s the aircraft portion of it and also the initial and longer-term sustainment portion of the P-8 that will play out in the course of the coming years.

We value our Team Poseidon partners and over the longer-term, it will be clearer as to the roles and impact they will have in this new RCAF capability.

CDR: Thank you Meinzinger, and welcome to the industry side of aerospace and defence!

Joetey Attariwala is CDR’s Aviation Editor