Boeing delays plans for record 737 production until 2021 - sources

Boeing has delayed plans to reach a record production rate of 57 737 jets per month next year, industry sources said on Thursday, even before the US FAA announced a new delay in the 737 MAX’s return to service which raised uncertainty over production plans. The world’s largest planemaker has also delayed plans to step up from the current rate of 42 jets per month to 46 jets this year until March 2020, as the company struggles to win regulatory approvals for its best-selling jet after two deadly crashes. The US FAA said Wednesday that the agency will not approve the grounded commercial jet for flight before year end, and said it was investigating production issues at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington. FAA chief Steve Dickson, who met with Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg on Thursday, is concerned that the U.S. airplane maker is pursuing a 737 MAX return-to-service schedule that is “not realistic,” according to an email seen by Reuters. A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on the company’s specific production plans. <br/>