Boeing faces fresh delays to new versions of its wildly popular 737 Max as it doubles down on its safety focus
Achieving certification for the Max 7 and Max 10 will be a key benchmark for Ortberg, who is approaching one year at the helm and has been leading Boeing's turnaround.
The company had initially hoped the Max 7, the shortest version of the flagship narrow-body jet, would be certified in 2022.
However, it has been constrained by work on the engine anti-ice system, a key safety feature that prevents ice from building up during cold weather conditions and at high altitude.
"Work on the solution is taking longer than expected, and we now are expecting certification in 2026," Ortberg said on the second-quarter earnings call.
The delay was first reported last week by industry publication The Air Current.
Back in 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration warned that the system could cause the engine to overheat — and potentially result in debris breaking off and hitting the plane.
Boeing then requested an exemption, saying an engine breakup is "extremely improbable," but withdrew this request in January 2024 as it faced a safety crisis in the wake of the Alaska Airlines blowout.
Figuring out a solution for the complex system has been far from straightforward.
Ortberg told investors on Tuesday that Boeing has been exploring different design paths.
"We found some issues with the design implementation we had, so we're going to have to back up and make some additional design changes to get through that de-icing requirement," he said.
"Basically, the engineering designs have not yielded in the time frame that we were anticipating, and so we still have work to do."
His comments came after Ryanair's earnings call last week, when CEO Michael O'Leary said Boeing's commercial airplanes chief wrote to confirm the airline's first 15 Max 10s would be delivered in the spring of 2027.
Meanwhile, Boeing is also working to certify the 777X — a twin-engine wide-body jet, also years behind schedule. It's now expected to enter service in 2026 as well.
"Flight testing continues with no new technical issues to report," Ortberg said during the earnings call.
Boeing reported quarterly revenues above expectations of $22.7 billion, with a net loss of $612 million.
It's been ramping up production of its cash-cow 737 Max, reaching the 38-a-month limit imposed by the FAA.
Its share price fell about 4% on Tuesday, but is still up more than 30% since the start of the year.
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