Boeing has launched a fourth assembly line for the 737 Max at its Everett (Washington state) facilities. With this new infrastructure, the manufacturer aims to progressively increase the production of its star aircraft and meet a large order backlog, although in an initial stage it will operate at a more measured pace.
This new line is located at the plant where the company primarily builds wide-body aircraft such as the 777, 767, and the future 777X. In an initial phase, it will employ around 1,000 workers, as detailed by Boeing Senior Director Jennifer Boland-Masterson during a visit to the facilities.
The company has decided to start operations in a staggered manner in order to detect possible problems and ensure that the line operates correctly before increasing production volume.
The commissioning of this line is part of the US group's strategy to increase the production rate of the 737 Max. Since 2024, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has limited production to 38 aircraft per month, following an incident involving an Alaska Airlines plane that led to a review of quality controls and changes in top management.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced last May that the FAA had authorized the company to increase production to 47 aircraft per month. In the longer term, the goal is to reach 63 units per month, a level considered essential to improve the group's accounts, reduce debt, and strengthen its competition with Airbus in the single-aisle aircraft segment.
During the visit, Boeing showed how the assembly of the 737 Max fuselages is carried out, which are manufactured in Wichita (Kansas) and transported by train to Everett for final assembly.
The inauguration takes place on the eve of the Farnborough Airshow, one of the major global events in the sector, where Boeing and Airbus will compete to announce new orders.
Both manufacturers maintain their objectives of increasing production despite the difficulties arising from the shortage of components and qualified personnel that have persisted since the pandemic.
In the case of Airbus, the company continues to face supply chain tensions that have repeatedly postponed its goal of reaching a cadence of 75 A321neo aircraft per month, the main rival of the 737 Max.
The new line occupies the space where the 787 Dreamliner was previously assembled, whose production was moved to North Charleston (South Carolina). Boeing has remodeled these facilities to facilitate the integration of more complex cabins, incorporating additional workstations for the assembly of fully reclining premium class seats.