Boeing’s Biggest Challenge Yet

The 2020s have thus far been a period to forget for American planemaker Boeing, and now it faces its biggest challenge yet.

From rebuilding production across several aircraft families to meet the backlog, to the restoration of trust on a public scale and the certification of new aircraft.

The odds will be stacked against Boeing, but led by a new leadership team, there’ll be internal hopes that greatness can be achieved in the short to medium term with more work and investment.

Production Hurdles

Boeing’s continued recovery rests a great deal on its ability to increase production across key aircraft programs, something that has been a lot easier said than done over recent years.

Whether it has been quality defects or a recent door blowout involving the 737 MAX that has led to enhanced oversight from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), adequate output rates have not been possible.

Under current rates, the FAA, which has been overseeing the rebuild at the planemaker, has imposed a production cap of 38 aircraft per month for the 737 MAX, which is considerably lower than what Boeing would have wanted to achieve.

However, this production cap is significantly less than what is required to work through the hefty backlog. Boeing has said on several occasions that healthy production rates are directly tied to a stable financial position.

Kelly Ortbeg, the planemaker’s CEO, is responsible for overseeing the rebuild and is hopeful that production will increase gradually for the 737 MAX. This will be done in increments and with the FAA overseeing any possible changes to ensure the highest standards are still met.

As for the Boeing 787, this has also seen some obstacles across recent years, with quality complaints halting production on more than one occasion.

However, more and more airlines are beginning to welcome 787s, a sign of things to come as Boeing finds ways to stabilise its production across the popular widebody, with the hope that an increase will occur in the short to medium term.

Unfortunately, for several years, the planemaker has battled reduced production rates, which have seen it cede ground to Airbus, allowing its competitor to stride ahead, a gap that, however, has diminished across 2025 as Boeing has seen more stability.

Certification Of Aircraft

Among the biggest tests set to come for the planemaker will be the persistent requirement to certify new aircraft; these aircraft types, which have been awaiting approval for years, are substantially behind schedule.

Firstly, the planemaker still has two variants in the 737 MAX program that remain uncertified: the 737-7 and the largest 737-10. These two variants are set to be important for the customers who have ordered them, especially the largest member in the program.

However, time and time again, Boeing’s ability to deliver planes based on forecasting has not occurred, which is damaging airline customers’ future fleet planning in terms of growth and renewal.

At this point, it is doubtful that Boeing will achieve the neccesary certification of the MAX this year, latest reporting suggesting the jet’s certification will stretch into 2026 as delays surround the unresolved engine anti-ice system.

Despite several efforts to withdraw the safety exemption some time ago, which was rejected, the focus is now on redesigning this and obtaining the necessary certification, a process that is taking longer due to the scrutiny the program faces from the FAA.

Unfortunately, for Boeing, it’s not just the 737 MAX that remains in the spotlight, but also the 777X, the upcoming flagship which was announced twelve years ago and is yet to operate a scheduled passenger flight.

Boeing had hopes of getting its 777X certified in 2020 with a first delivery this year as well. However, now the planemaker is more hopeful of an approval in 2026, with airlines beginning passenger flights in 2027.

Once more, the 777X has been delayed on numerous occasions; now, timeframes are not as standard in the public domain as Boeing has been unable to meet them more than once.

The certification delays across the business do carry consequences that impact not just the planemaker in question but airlines that are patiently awaiting them.

Delays have hindered Boeing’s ability to fulfil the backlog; additionally, it has pushed airlines to swap out aircraft orders, while also publicly expressing their frustrations about the delays and inability to take on new planes.

Rebuilding Trust Again

All in all, Boeing must fundamentally restore the trust of its airline customers and the public, even stretching to employees who feel that trust has been broken over the last half-decade.

While for some the damage is irreparable, it’s crucial for the planemaker that it moves ahead in a positive mindset, and feedback from airline customers across recent times suggests that there has been improvement made, especially on the production floor.

Airlines that have visited the manufacturer’s facilities have said that the investments that have been made are clearly visible, and those investments in the hundreds of millions are fundamental to turning around the approach to quality and safety.

From certification to the increases in production, alongside much more, Boeing faces some of its biggest challenges yet as it feels finally primed to take on these obstacles, for the first time in years, with greater stability from top to bottom.