Boeing's 737 Max Bogged Down by Supply Delays as Market Looks Up

The ongoing 737 Max saga, riddled with production issues and delays, has cost Boeing revenues, weighed heavily on its reputation and lowered its stock value.

A "significant" number of Boeing 737 Max passenger jets are facing delivery delays over production issues, the aviation giant has said.

According to the company itself, the problem lies in the installation of fittings on the rear of the plane that fail to follow the given standard. At the same time, the US airplane manufacturer assured that this was "not an immediate safety-of-flight issue" and that the in-service fleet can "continue operating safely."

The production issue affects the entire 737 Max family of airplanes, including the Max 7, Max 8 and Max 8200 jets, and the P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft.

The company said it has notified the Federal Aviation Administration of the problem and is working on inspections and replacing the non-conforming fittings wherever necessary. In the meantime, until the required work is completed, "lower near-term deliveries" were to be expected, it said.

However, this is only the latest issue in a long series of problems for Boeing. Barely last month, US transportation regulators gave Boeing the thumbs up to resume deliveries of its widebody 787 Dreamliner following issues with its data analysis, which had led to a halt in deliveries earlier in February.

Furthermore, Boeing has been at pains to soup up the 737 Max passenger jet, which was grounded worldwide for over a year after two fatal accidents that killed 346 people. It later transpired that both accidents were caused by design flaws in its flight control software. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subsequently ordered Boeing to pay $200 million for misleading investors about safety in the wake of two deadly crashes by its 737 Max passenger aircraft in 2018 and 2019. During the 737 Max saga, Boeing has suffered through increased costs, loss of revenue, reputational damage, victim litigation, client compensation, reduced credit rating, and decreased stock value.

Since the new production issues come at a time when the entire industry is facing a shortage of jets, the US-based company's shares immediately plummeted by more than five percent.

Demand for air travel has spiked since the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, spurring airlines worldwide to scramble for resources to meet the rising demand. Boeing itself reported earlier this year that the orders for new jets jumped in the first months of 2023. Many of the new planes were to be the 737 Max model purchased by US carriers Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.