Boeing rolls the dice on China for expanded 737 Max output
China still hasn’t signed off on the return of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max. But the planemaker isn’t backing off its target for an aggressive step-up in production starting in early 2022. Does the company know something the rest of us don’t, or is it just foolhardy? The Max returned to service late last year in the U.S., but China — which was the first country to ground the plane after its two fatal crashes — has given little official indication of when it might allow the embattled jet to fly again. With Chinese airlines still barred from accepting deliveries, Boeing handed over just 62 of the jets in the third quarter, slightly short of projections. It has cleared out only about a third of the 450 planes that piled up in its parking lots during the nearly two-year global grounding and the pandemic. But when the company reported its latest results on Wednesday, it reiterated a plan to start churning out 31 Max jets a month by early 2022, up from a pace of 19 now. Boeing is also “evaluating the timing of further rate increases.” That’s slightly more optimistic and definitive language than what Boeing used in the second quarter when it said “the company will continue to assess the production rate plan as it monitors the market environment and engages in customer discussions,” with “further gradual increases” expected to correspond with market demand. Boeing CEO David Calhoun had previously said a lack of measurable progress on China recertification by the end of this year would force the company to “consider real actions with respect to what the future rate ramp looks like” for Max production. On a call with investors Wednesday, he expressed optimism that China approval would still come before the end of the year, with deliveries then resuming in the beginning of 2022. But Calhoun also appeared willing to extend his patience, saying that if China still hadn’t signed off on the Max by the middle of next year, that’s the point where the company would reevaluate. “We wouldn’t cut rates, but we would not increase rates at the pace we would otherwise,” Calhoun said. “I think we have plenty of time.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-10-28/general/boeing-rolls-the-dice-on-china-for-expanded-737-max-output
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Boeing rolls the dice on China for expanded 737 Max output
China still hasn’t signed off on the return of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max. But the planemaker isn’t backing off its target for an aggressive step-up in production starting in early 2022. Does the company know something the rest of us don’t, or is it just foolhardy? The Max returned to service late last year in the U.S., but China — which was the first country to ground the plane after its two fatal crashes — has given little official indication of when it might allow the embattled jet to fly again. With Chinese airlines still barred from accepting deliveries, Boeing handed over just 62 of the jets in the third quarter, slightly short of projections. It has cleared out only about a third of the 450 planes that piled up in its parking lots during the nearly two-year global grounding and the pandemic. But when the company reported its latest results on Wednesday, it reiterated a plan to start churning out 31 Max jets a month by early 2022, up from a pace of 19 now. Boeing is also “evaluating the timing of further rate increases.” That’s slightly more optimistic and definitive language than what Boeing used in the second quarter when it said “the company will continue to assess the production rate plan as it monitors the market environment and engages in customer discussions,” with “further gradual increases” expected to correspond with market demand. Boeing CEO David Calhoun had previously said a lack of measurable progress on China recertification by the end of this year would force the company to “consider real actions with respect to what the future rate ramp looks like” for Max production. On a call with investors Wednesday, he expressed optimism that China approval would still come before the end of the year, with deliveries then resuming in the beginning of 2022. But Calhoun also appeared willing to extend his patience, saying that if China still hadn’t signed off on the Max by the middle of next year, that’s the point where the company would reevaluate. “We wouldn’t cut rates, but we would not increase rates at the pace we would otherwise,” Calhoun said. “I think we have plenty of time.”<br/>
