A Boeing 737 MAX 8 sits outside the hangar during a media tour of the Boeing 737 MAX on the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington.
Matt Mcknight | Reuters
Boeing‘s CEO Dave Calhoun said that a flaw detected in a few of its 737 Max planes won’t hinder its supply chain plans for increased production of its bestselling jetliner this 12 months.
On Thursday, Boeing disclosed an issue with two of several brackets within the aft fuselage of some 737 Max planes, including the preferred model, the Max 8, and said it could likely end in reduced deliveries of the planes.
The corporate will not be changing its schedule with suppliers, including “anticipated rate increases,” Calhoun said at the corporate’s annual shareholder meeting Tuesday. Boeing can also be comfortable holding extra stock of aircraft supplies “so our supply chain can keep its pace,” Calhoun added.
Shares of Spirit Aerosystems, which makes the fuselages, and Boeing each rose on Calhoun’s comments.
The most recent issue comes as airlines are desperate to receive recent planes ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer travel season. Boeing can also be planning to extend production of the planes, a goal that has proved difficult as the availability chain recovers from the pandemic.
Calhoun said Tuesday the corporate is assessing the impact of the problem on 737 Max deliveries and apologized to customers but didn’t provide more detail. He said the problem doesn’t affect the corporate’s long-term guidance.
He said that Max jetliners that are not affected by the flaw will proceed to be delivered to airlines.
“We all know what we have now to do,” he said.
Boeing is scheduled to report first-quarter results on April 26.
