Boeing says more quality checks reduced deliveries by half in March

ARLINGTON, Virginia: This week, Boeing said that as it was forced to reduce 737 MAX production due to increased quality checks and audits by regulators, it only delivered 29 airplanes in March, down more than half from the 64 delivered in the same month a year ago.

The U.S. plane maker said that to improve manufacturing quality following the mid-air blowout of a door plug on a 737 MAX 9 jet, it came under increased scrutiny from regulators. It is producing fewer MAX single-aisle jets.

In late March, Boeing's monthly output rate fell to single digits, well below a monthly cap imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration-imposed (FAA) of 38 planes.

Boeing said that in the first quarter of 2024, it delivered some 83 airplanes to customers, including 66 MAX jets, compared with 130 airplane deliveries in the same period in 2023.

"We are deliberately going slow to get this right. We are the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program below 38 per month until we feel like we are ready," said Brian West, Boeing's Chief Financial Officer.

After resuming MAX deliveries to China in January, Boeing delivered eight MAX jets to Chinese airlines in March.

The company added that on April 9, it took a total of 113 new orders in March, including 85 737 MAX 10 jets for American Airlines, bringing its gross order total so far this year to 131.

After removing cancellations and conversions, Boeing has a net total of 126 orders since the start of 2024.