Boeing preparing to raise 737 Max output to 42 jets as soon as October

By Julie Johnsson, Allyson Versprille and Siddharth Philip

 

Boeing Co. is guiding suppliers that 737 Max output could reach a 42-jet monthly tempo as early as October, according to people familiar with its plans, highlighting growing optimism at the planemaker as it works to win approval for the move from US regulators.

 

The company is also laying the groundwork to increase the manufacturing pace again in April and once more in late 2026, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential matters. Combined, the step changes would potentially boost production to about 53 jets a month by the close of next year. 

 

 

Investors regard the rate increase of Boeing’s most important product as the clearest sign yet that management is moving to regain a grip on factory processes as well as the trust of the Federal Aviation Administration after years of repeated missteps while rival Airbus SE marched ahead. 

 

Boeing’s monthly rate was capped at 38 last year following a near-catastrophic accident that led to a wholesale switch of senior leadership. 

 

At the same time, internal planning helps suppliers line up equipment and resources and is not set in stone, some of the people cautioned.

 

To reach the first step in returning 737 output to pre-Covid levels, Boeing must still convince the FAA that its Seattle-area factories and hundreds of suppliers can keep pace, while also maintaining quality.

 

“Safety drives everything we do,” the US regulator said in a response for comment for Boeing’s possible rate hike. “The FAA will continue oversight of Boeing’s production processes and work with the company to determine if it can safely increase production.” 

 

Boeing declined to comment.

 

Speeding the production tempo in its factories is crucial if Boeing is to pay down debt and improve its finances and beat back Airbus’ fast-selling rival jets. Boeing executives have guided that cash flow will start to turn positive as 737 output rises, and investors will be closely monitoring both measures when the company reports third-quarter earnings later this month.

 

Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg has emphasized that the company’s production schedule — including carefully choreographed rate increases — will be driven by the progress in its factories. Ortberg has expressed confidence that Boeing will reach the next production milestone during the fourth quarter.

 

“I feel pretty good that we’ve got the process,” Ortberg told a conference in September, noting careful reviews with the FAA and the need to improve a lingering key factory performance measure of the number of jobs that need to be reworked. 

 

“We got to get this final metric stabilised, and then we’re certainly still planning to be producing at 42 a month by the end of the year,” Ortberg said at the time. 

 

Boeing has laid out six performance metrics that the FAA has been monitoring to assess progress in addressing production shortfalls, including tracking supplier shortages and parts installed or repaired after jets roll out of the factory.

 

The company plans to maintain the 42-jet-per-month pace for about six months while it makes sure its mechanics and suppliers aren’t duly stressed by building an additional 737 a week, before approaching the FAA about the next rate increase. 

 

But as the rates rise, Boeing will face an increasing risk of the shortages of engines and other parts that have also hamstrung Airbus. Some suppliers have been skeptical that Boeing can truly churn out 50 737s or more each month at some point next year, given the persistent supply constraints in the broader industry.

 

Boeing’s efforts to improve production have won praise from customers. Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Irish carrier Ryanair Holdings Plc who is both the planemaker’s biggest European customer and a frequent critic, said Boeing has expressed confidence it will be able to raise 737 production rates by the end of October.

 

The US planemaker has stepped up production in its factories this year after spending much of last year painstakingly reviewing its assembly processes and retraining workers. The facilities were shut down following a crippling two-month strike in late 2024, which started just a few weeks after Ortberg took up his new job. 

 

Following a door-plug blowout in January 2024 on an almost new 737, the FAA placed more safety inspectors at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington, and asked the company to submit a detailed plan for addressing its manufacturing and quality lapses.

 

Boeing raised the manufacturing tempo of the 737 during the second quarter to a 38-jet monthly pace, the limit set by the FAA. 

 

Airbus has a plan to get its competing A320neo family to 75 monthly units in 2027, though the company has also been forced to walk back an earlier, more optimistic timeline because of the supply constraints.