FAA Approves 737 MAX Rate Increase

Boeing Commercial Airplanes has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to increase its 737 MAX production rate, from 38 to 42 aircraft per month. The authorization was made October 17, more than 20 months after the FAA established oversight of 737 MAX production in the aftermath of the January 2024 incident that revealed safety and quality lapses in the program.

The investigation into that accident concluded that Boeing workers failed install a series of safety bolts necessary to secure the mid-cabin door plug aboard an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet, resulting in the door failing in flight. The crew landed the aircraft safely and no one was seriously injured.

Coordinating the rate increase with the extensive 737 MAX supply chain will be critical to the process, as Boeing noted following the FAA approval news. “We appreciate the work by our team, our suppliers and the FAA to ensure we are prepared to increase production with safety and quality at the forefront,” according to a Boeing statement.

Since September the FAA has been signaling its increasing confidence that the 737 MAX program has been stabilized. "Progress is being made," according to comments by agency chief Brian Bedford. "It may not be as fast perhaps as Boeing would like, but it is as fast as we can reasonably move through the process."

Later that month FAA issued more than $3.1 million in fines against Boeing for safety violations committed in the program between September 2023 and February 2024.

By the end of September, FAA had reinstated limited authorization for Boeing to issue airworthiness certificates, meaning that the manufacturer can expedite the delivery of aircraft to customers.

“FAA safety inspectors conducted extensive reviews of Boeing’s production lines to ensure that this small production rate increase will be done safely,” according to an agency statement.

Boeing has been aiming to achieve a production rate of 50 aircraft per month for several years, to improve its revenue and to make progress on its extensive backlog of orders for its best-selling jet. In its third-quarter order summary Boeing reported it made 121 deliveries of 737 MAX jets from July through September, and has made 330 deliveries for the year-to-date.

Aircraft builders cannot collect full payment on an order until the finished aircraft is delivered, and Boeing has a backlog of nearly 6,800 orders for the 737 MAX aircraft - including the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 models, which have not yet reached commercialization and are still waiting for FAA approval. Those certifications are unlikely to happen before the 2026.

In recent comments to investors, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg indicated that the organization would continue to increase production rates in increments of five aircraft, at roughly six-month intervals. “We’ll go from 42 and then we’ll go up another five, and we’ll go up another five,” Ortberg said. “We’ll get to where that inventory is more balanced with the supply chain, probably around the 47 a month production rate.”