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The Federal Aviation Administration will let Boeing increase production of its 737 Max to 42 planes a month from 38, boosting the limit put in place after a fuselage panel blew off a jet midair early last year.
The regulator’s safety inspectors conducted extensive reviews of Boeing’s production lines to ensure the jet maker’s requested production rate increase will be done safely, an FAA spokesperson said Friday.
“Our direct oversight of Boeing’s production processes, implementation of its Safety Management System, and whistleblower protections has not changed,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The FAA put the production limit in place weeks after a near-catastrophe on an Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024, in which a door plug ripped away from the plane shortly after takeoff and left a gaping hole in the side of the aircraft.
The agency blamed Boeing for emphasizing production over quality. Former FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said at the time that Boeing would not be allowed to expand production until quality control issues uncovered during the episode were resolved.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the FAA was expected to allow Boeing to boost 737 MAX production, among other concessions that could help the company deliver more newly produced aircraft to customers.
Boeing shares ticked up 1.3% to $215.75 after hours.
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Boeing secured orders for up to 75 787 Dreamliners and up to 150 737 MAX aircraft from Turkish Airlines.
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Boeing BA -0.59%decrease; red down pointing triangle secured sizable aircraft orders from Turkish Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, a boost for the jet maker as it seeks to revamp its business.
The group said Turkish Airlines, formally known as Turk Hava Yollari, placed an order for up to 75 787 Dreamliners, its largest ever purchase of Boeing wide-body aircraft. The announcement comes after President Trump met Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington.
The deal includes 35 787-9 models, 15 of the larger 787-10 model and options for 25 787 Dreamliners. Boeing said Turkish Airlines also planned to buy up to 150 737 MAX aircraft in what would be its largest Boeing single-aisle order.
Meanwhile, Norwegian placed an order for 30 737-8 aircraft as it seeks to expand its services across Europe. In 2022, the low-cost carrier agreed to purchase 50 737s and has now exercised the option to order additional aircraft.
The companies didn’t disclose financial terms, but buyers typically receive steep discounts for big aircraft orders.
Boeing is seeking to regain its footing since the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout last year that raised pressure from airlines and regulators to ensure safety and quality in its production processes.
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Air Canada’s third-quarter revenue dropped 5%, with profit falling to C$264 million, following a three-day flight attendant strike in August.
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Air Canada AC 1.18%increase; green up pointing triangle is riding a rebound in premium and international travel to move past the fallout from its recent labor disruption that impacted third-quarter results.
Executives at the Canadian flagship airline said Wednesday on an earnings call that the return in demand is expected to carry through the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, particularly to transatlantic destinations, while winter bookings for Latin America are tracking ahead of last year. The gains are being driven by network expansion and vacation package offerings.
“Booking patterns rebounded soon after the disruption ended, underscoring brand strength and consistency in customer behavior,” Chief Commercial Officer Mark Galardo said.
Roughly 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job in August seeking better wages and compensation. The disruption lasted three days, despite calls from Canada’s Industrial Relations Board to return to work, forcing the carrier to ground all flights and temporarily withdraw its financial targets.
On Tuesday, after the markets closed, Air Canada disclosed the financial impact to results, with a 5% drop in revenue, while profit fell to C$264 million, or the equivalent of $186.5 million.
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Airlines and engine makers are deploying new measures to curb instances of toxic fumes leaking into cockpits and cabins as momentum builds toward fixing a chronic problem in the aviation industry.
The efforts follow a Wall Street Journal report in September that leaks of oil and other aircraft fluids into jet engines have surged in recent years, causing toxins to flood the cockpit and cabin via the so-called bleed air supply. In some cases, fumes have led to sickened passengers and in-flight emergencies, and caused long-term brain injuries and other illnesses that have permanently grounded crew.
In late September, Germany’s Lufthansa signed a preliminary deal for a new oil that is billed as safer than existing lubricants, according to a spokesman.
Other carriers, including Delta, Air France-KLM and Britain’s EasyJet have been pressing engine makers to approve the less-toxic lubricant or otherwise expressed interest in using it, according to documents and representatives for the companies.
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Federal investigators probing the crash of a United Parcel Service cargo jet that killed 14 people in Louisville, Ky., earlier this month found signs of metal fatigue and stress in hardware that connected an engine to the plane, according to a preliminary accident report published Thursday.
Investigators “found evidence of fatigue cracks in addition to areas of overstress failure” in a part of the engine mount that linked the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter’s left engine to the wing, the National Transportation Safety Board report said. Images taken from video footage of the plane’s takeoff showed the General Electric engine aflame after it detached, shot above the fuselage and hit the ground.
The jet continued to climb and cleared a fence before its left main landing gear hit the roof of a UPS warehouse beyond the runway at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport. The plane then crashed in an industrial area beyond the warehouse that included a petroleum recycling facility, the report said.
Collage of 6 photos showing an engine detaching from the left wing of a UPS plane during takeoff, resulting in an explosion.
This sequence of framegrabs shows an engine detaching from the UPS plane's left wing upon takeoff at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport on Nov. 4. UPS/NTSB/AP
UPS had last inspected the engine mount in question in 2021. Certain related parts would have been due for inspection after more than 28,000 flights, but the airplane had flown about 21,000 flights at the time of the crash.
The UPS plane was fully loaded with fuel for its scheduled flight to Honolulu. The ensuing crash killed three crew members and 11 people on the ground.
UPS said it would support the NTSB’s investigation through its conclusion. Both it and FedEx have grounded their MD-11 fleets.
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IAG, parent company of British Airways, aims to bid for a stake in Portugal’s TAP, competing with Air France-KLM and Lufthansa.
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British Airways’ parent company IAG said it aims to join the bidding process for a stake in Portugal’s TAP, as it contends with Air France-KLM AF and Deutsche Lufthansa for a slice of the state-owned carrier with coveted routes bridging Europe and Latin America.
International Consolidated Airlines Group —which houses carriers like British Airways, Iberia and Vueling—said Friday that it had submitted its interest to state-holding company Parpublica, seeking to join TAP Air Portugal’s privatization. IAG didn’t disclose financial details.
“Several terms would need to be addressed before IAG could propose an investment,” the group added.
IAG’s submission comes after Air France-KLM and Lufthansa said earlier this week they had put forth statements formally expressing interest in purchasing a stake in TAP.
In July, Portugal’s government said it would shed a 49.9% stake in TAP, reserving 44.9% for private investors and 5% for company employees. Officials have been mulling over a partial sale of the national carrier for years.
One of the terms of the sale requires buyers to keep the main hub for TAP in Lisbon. IAG said its decentralized model aligns with the Portuguese government’s intent to protect TAP, adding that it would have significant potential within the group.
TAP could be a linchpin for routes linking Europe and Latin America, prized for its access to the Latin American market, both Air France-KLM and Lufthansa have said.
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Beijing and Washington at odds over range of trade and national-security considerations
Beijing and Washington are discussing a trade deal that could include fresh orders totaling hundreds of Boeing BA 0.37%increase; green up pointing triangle jets, people familiar with the matter said.
The purchase is envisioned as a component of a more expansive trade deal if the world’s two largest economies can reach an agreement in the next few months, they said.
The purchase discussions were earlier reported by Bloomberg News, which said China could buy as many as 500 jets from the American plane maker.
U.S. passenger-jet orders are becoming a favored concession for countries looking to improve tariff terms from American authorities. Qatar’s state-owned airline in May agreed to buy up to 210 wide-body 787 and 777X jets from Boeing as part of a broader bilateral agreement. Announced trade deals with the U.K., Japan and Indonesia have also tacked on pledges to buy a certain number of the American airplanes.
Talks between the two superpowers are significantly more complex. The two sides are at odds over a range of trade and national-security considerations that cover everything from the supply of precious minerals to the delivery of artificial-intelligence chips.
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Union representing about 3,200 St. Louis-area workers rejected the company’s latest contract offer
Boeing leaders face another picket line after machinists in its St. Louis-area defense business rejected their latest contract offer.
The union division that represents about 3,200 workers in Missouri and Illinois on Sunday rejected the aerospace giant’s latest four-year contract proposal, threatening the company’s fragile turnaround effort. The workers went on strike at midnight.
The machinists had worked without a contract for the past week as company and union representatives haggled over work schedules and benefits, among other issues.
The new work stoppage doesn’t match last year’s massive Boeing strike in the Pacific Northwest, which pulled more than 33,000 employees off production lines responsible for its workhorse 737 MAX passenger jet. That nearly eight-week showdown caused havoc in the company’s profit powerhouse before workers won a 38% raise over the life of their four-year contract.