An aerial view of the engines and fuselage of an unpainted Boeing 737 MAX parked in storage at King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington June 1, 2022.
Lindsey Wasson | Reuters
BoeingThe warning that production quality issues will delay deliveries of the best-selling 737 Max is one other headache for airlines as they demand new planes to handle a rebound in air traffic ahead of the peak season.
Two of several supports in the rear fuselage of some 737 Max aircraft, including the hottest Max 8, are affected.
Boeing has a backlog of 4,196 Max planes, in keeping with an inventory on its website. Boeing revealed the production problem on Thursday but didn’t say what number of planes were affected or how long deliveries is likely to be delayed. The current aircraft delivery schedule extends into the second half of the decade.
hull supplier, Spirit Aerosystems, Boeing and the FAA said the issue didn’t impact flight safety. Nonetheless, solving this problem can mean time-consuming additional work. The two brackets in query are inside the aircraft and, in keeping with an individual acquainted with the matter, are usually not as easily accessible as they’re outside the fuselage.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is prone to comment on the matter at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday. Boeing revealed the problem just weeks after an executive said it was preparing to extend jet production from the current rate of 31 a month.
Long delays could be bad news for airlines already crippled by a world shortage of new aircraft. They might also hurt Boeing’s plan to enhance money flow, as airlines pay most of the price of an aircraft upon delivery.
“It doesn’t sound prefer it’s a really invasive fix, but on the other hand, I believe everyone is a bit scared by the recent experience,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamics Advisory.
Southwest Airlineswhich operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet, said it was discussing the impact of the issue with the manufacturer.
“Boeing has contacted us about a difficulty with a supplier’s manufacturing process that can affect the delivery of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to Southwest,” the company said in a Thursday statement. “We expect this to affect our current delivery schedule; we’re in talks with Boeing to grasp what that impact shall be in 2023 and beyond.”
CEO Bob Jordan said during a earnings call in January that the airline expects about 90 Max aircraft this 12 months, downgrading its forecast from 100 “in light of recent talks with Boeing and ongoing challenges in the supply chain.”
american airlines he said he was also discussing the problem with Boeing. In accordance with a 2022 report, the airline has 88 Max aircraft on order.
Each carriers plan to report the results on April 27, when they’ll likely face questions on the issue.
United Airlineswhich reported on Tuesday: “Boeing has been keeping us updated on this matter and at the moment we don’t expect any significant impact on our capability plans for this summer or the rest of the 12 months.”
The problem is the latest in a string of quality issues and aircraft delays at Boeing, which also affected the 787 Dreamliner.
The worldwide grounding and production hiatus of the 737 Max followed two fatal Max accidents. After planes were allowed to fly again and production resumed, the pandemic plunged the industry into chaos, leading to loss of money and 1000’s of expert staff.