An aerial view of the engines and fuselage of an unpainted Boeing 737 MAX airplane parked in storage at King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, June 1, 2022.
Lindsey Wasson | Reuters
Boeing said it plans so as to add a fourth 737 Max production line within the second half of next yr because it targets higher output of its best-selling plane, an executive told staff on Monday.
The brand new line can be housed in Boeing’s massive Everett, Washington, factory, where it has been reworking a few of its 787 Dreamliners and producing 777s and 767s. Until December, it had also been producing the 747 jumbo jet there.
“This undertaking is important,” Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing Industrial Airplanes, said in a note to staff, which was seen by CNBC. “Along with preparing the ability, we now have begun the strategy of notifying and preparing our suppliers, customers, unions and employees as we take the mandatory steps to create a recent line.”
Boeing has been desperate to increase production of the 737 Max, but CEO Dave Calhoun has said the corporate is hesitant to ramp up output too quickly due to labor and provide chain strains.
It’s currently producing around 31 of the jets a month and last week said it’s aiming for a rate of fifty a month within the “2025/2026 timeframe.” The manufacturer plans to rent around 10,000 staff this yr, it said in a filing on Friday.
It has a backlog of greater than 3,600 of those single-aisle planes, with carriers including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines awaiting planes. Boeing booked 700 orders for brand spanking new 737 Max planes last yr.
Boeing still plans to operate three production lines on the Renton, Washington, 737 Max factory, Deal said. He pointed to demand for newer models just like the 737-10, the most important within the family, which still hasn’t won regulatory approval.
Boeing plans at hand during the last 747 it has produced to cargo carrier Atlas Air on Tuesday afternoon.