Boeing's firing of Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg is a needed first step in restoring the company's credibility, as reflected by the market's favorable reaction on Monday, yet it raises questions about top management's long-term strength in a competitive field, analysts said.

Muilenburg's tenure was a public relations disaster for Boeing after two crashes of the 737 Max killed a total of 346 passengers and crew. He was overly optimistic about the recertification schedule, leading airlines to believe the jet would return to service this year. He also initially mishandled hostility directed at him by family members who lost loved ones in the crashes, critics charged.

Boeing Chairman David Calhoun will become Boeing's new CEO on Jan 13. He is a former senior managing director and head of private equity at the Blackstone Group and former chairman of Nielsen Holdings, a marketing and media information company. Muilenburg is an aerospace engineer.

Investors cheered Muilenburg's departure. Boeing's stock rose as high as US$340.58 a share in intraday trading and closed on Monday at US$337.55, up 2.91 percent.

"If the market, Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration view Muilenburg as the face of the problem, then today's action at least changes the face," Robert Mann, president of R.W. Mann& Co, an aviation consulting firm in Port Washington, New York, told China Daily.