A source close to American airplane maker, Boeing Co, said the company is contemplating suspending the production of the 737 Max model in the meantime. This comes as American aviation regulators are yet to give clearance to the planemaker following major accidents involving the model in 2018 and earlier this year.
The source, who asked not to be named, went further to disclose that the company’s executives believe that “a temporary pause” in production is the right thing for the company at this point. Clearance for the revamped 737 Max will most likely not be by January 2020 as earlier expected.
In the meantime, Boeing has not specifically addressed this speculation. Following an emailed enquiry by Bloomberg, they responded stating the following:
“We continue to work closely with the FAA and global regulators towards certification and the safe return to service of the Max. We will continue to assess production decisions based on the timing and conditions of return to service, which will be based on regulatory approvals and may vary by jurisdiction.”
The company’s directors are expected to meet later this month to deliberate on a number of issues, including setting dividend for 2020. Perhaps, the issue halting the production of 737 Max is one of the things they will be talking about.
[READ MORE: Boeing Planes undergo certification flight next month, eye possible return]
Note that this is not the first time the company is altering its production target for 737 Max. Weeks after the catastrophic Ethiopian Airline crash in March this year, which killed many people, Boeing reduced production for the 737 Max by 19%.
As Nairametrics reported, 737 Max planes were banned from flying in many countries. As such, many of such plane models have been grounded. Boeing has also been unable to make any new deliveries since the grounding. This has resulted in a stockpile of about 380 newly built planes to be left in the company’s storage facilities.
Recall that Nigeria’s Air Peace is one of the airlines around the world which ordered for the 737 Max plane before the deadly crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines. The Nigerian airline has been unable to get its order ever since.
