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‘s warning that a production quality problem will delay deliveries of its best-selling 737 Max is one other headache for airlines clamoring for brand spanking new planes to handle a rebound in air travel, just ahead of the height season.
The issue is expounded to 2 of several brackets within the aft fuselage of some 737 Max planes, including the most well-liked model, the Max 8.
Boeing has a backlog of 4,196 Max planes, in line with a tally on its website. Boeing disclosed the production issue on Thursday but has not said what number of planes are affected or how long deliveries could possibly be delayed. The present delivery schedule of the planes stretches to the second half of the last decade.
The fuselage supplier, Spirit Aerosystems, Boeing and the FAA said the issue doesn’t affect flight safety. But addressing the difficulty could mean time-consuming additional work. The 2 brackets in query are on the inside of the plane and usually are not as easy to succeed in as a priority on the surface of the fuselage can be, in line with an individual aware of the matter.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will likely comment on the difficulty in the course of the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday. Boeing disclosed the difficulty just weeks after an executive said it was gearing up to extend output of the jets from the present rate of 31 a month.
Lengthy delays can be bad news for airlines already hamstrung by a worldwide shortage of latest aircraft. They might also hurt Boeing’s plan to enhance money flow, since airlines pay the majority of a plane’s price upon delivery.
“It doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a very invasive fix, but alternatively I believe everyone’s a bit spooked due to recent experience,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamics Advisory.
Southwest Airlines, which operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet, said it discussing the affects of the issue with the manufacturer.
“Boeing contacted us regarding a difficulty with a supplier’s manufacturing process that may affect the delivery of Boeing 737 MAX planes to Southwest,” the corporate said in a press release Thursday. “We expect this to affect our current delivery schedule; we’re in discussions with Boeing to grasp what that impact shall be in 2023 and beyond.”
CEO Bob Jordan said on an earnings call in January that the airline expects roughly 90 Max planes this 12 months, lowering its forecast from 100 “in light of recent discussions with Boeing and continued challenges in supply chain.”
American Airlines said additionally it is discussing the issue with Boeing. The airline has 88 Max aircraft on order, in line with its 2022 report.
Each carriers plan to report results on April 27, when they’ll likely face questions on the difficulty.
United Airlines, which reports on Tuesday said: “Boeing is keeping us informed about this issue, and presently we don’t expect any significant impact on our capability plans for this summer or the remainder of the 12 months.”
The issue is the newest in a string of quality problems and aircraft delays at Boeing that has also included its 787 Dreamliner planes.
A worldwide grounding and production pause of the 737 Max followed two fatal crashes of the Max. After the planes were cleared to fly again and production resumed, the pandemic threw the industry into disarray because it hemorrhaged money and lost hundreds of expert staff.
