Boeing Resumes 737 MAX Production

According to Reuters, Boeing has formally restarted production of its most popular 737 MAX series. Work on the jet was not restarted even after strike action concluded.

Significant output delays ensued after significant strike action that saw some 33,000 employees walk off the job and halt work on producing the most popular single-aisle jet.

However, when Boeing was able to strike a deal with the union and employee base, strike action ended, and some imagined that work would immediately recommence on the MAX and things would stabilise.

Unfortunately, it was anything but that, with it being a complicated and tiresome process getting production back underway. Through reporting last week, it was broken that production had, in fact, not restarted, which dealt a blow to end-of-year targets for Boeing and airlines expecting planes.

Furthermore, now that production has restarted, it isn’t expected to ramp up rapidly either, with onlookers and Boeing themselves openly admitting it’ll take some time to get back to how they once built planes.

Worse still, getting back to how planes were once being built across 2024 would still be considered far from optimal, with outputs reaching record lows following increased oversight from the Federal Aviation Adminsitration (FAA).

However, Boeing’s move to finally resume production on the 737 MAX is a much-needed breath of fresh air. They couldn’t afford to wait much longer for production to resume.

Much of those concerns arose from the planemaker’s financial position, which has been hit hard recently and has seen some legitimate concerns in recent light come to fruition.

The company, which is riddled with debt, needs MAX production to resume to not just try and work through the backlog, which stands in the thousands, but also for the greater good of its recovery efforts, which have been turbulent and certainly not linear.

While production has resumed, Boeing still has not been given the all-clear by the FAA to move its rates above the cap imposed by the regulator earlier this year.

That rate imposed came from the FAA’s belief that the planemaker couldn’t increase production rates and that this needed to be capped.

The governing regulator argued that any prospective increases coming too soon would cause Boeing to deviate from the critical work it has undertaken this year to rebuild its culture and practices and limit quality issues.

Other Challenges Persist At Boeing

Boeing is very excited about production resumption, especially after workers were on strike for a couple of months. However, many other challenges remain.

The FAA recently confirmed it would radically change the certification process for upcoming aircraft, notably focusing on Boeing to try and streamline the process while ensuring it still had substantial control.

The 737-7 and 737-10 remain uncertified from the MAX family, and their approvals seem no closer. Some Boeing targets estimate a 2025 approval, which, while to some analysts, seems possible, is hard to believe given a recent track record.

Delayed certification of new planes isn’t uncommon; Airbus’ latest A321XLR has been delayed a year thanks to concerns about its additional fuel tank to provide greater range but the subsequent fire risks.

With that being said, the colossal delays to the remaining MAX variants and even the upcoming 777X long-haul jet have been causes for concern.

2025 will be crucial for Boeing as it attempts to streamline its business, consider recovering, and build a more financially stable future. This is being done through the axing of some 17,000 employees.