Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Boeing CEO says still 'chance' 737 MAX could win approval this year

Published 09/15/2022, 11:13 AM
Updated 09/15/2022, 01:14 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of a Boeing 737 MAX 10 airplane parked at King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S, June 1, 2022.  REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of a Boeing 737 MAX 10 airplane parked at King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S, June 1, 2022. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun said Thursday there is still a chance U.S. regulators could approve the 737 MAX 10 before the end of the year and he thinks the company will win approval for the smaller 737 MAX 7 in the coming months.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) faces a late December deadline set by Congress to win certification of the two variants of the MAX before a new safety standard on cockpit alerts takes effect.

"We are working to finish. There's a chance but there's also a chance it doesn't," Calhoun told reporters on the sidelines of an aviation event. Calhoun said he thought the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would approve the 737 MAX 7 before the end of the year.

Calhoun said if needed, Boeing would seek "some kind of extension" and make a case based on the "safety argument to win."

Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said earlier Thursday that the agency would not commit to a timeline to approve the Boeing 737 MAX 7 or 10.

"We are working through that as purposefully as we can and we will get it done when we get it done," Nolen said.

Some Boeing customers and analysts do not think there is enough time remaining for the FAA to complete certification tasks before the deadline for the MAX 10 but think the MAX 7 could win approval later this year.

Calhoun said the review of the MAX 7 requires a big documentation effort in order to win approval and "is a demonstration that it is the process as opposed to the product."

Ryanair told Reuters in August that Boeing appears to have accepted it will not be able to certify its MAX 10 aircraft by year-end, but it remains possible that U.S. lawmakers could give it more time.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of a Boeing 737 MAX 10 airplane parked at King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S, June 1, 2022.  REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

Nolen said Congress had required Boeing to submit system safety analyses as part of the 2020 aircraft certification reform bill and they must be approved by FAA before the planes can be approved. "That's a pretty heavy lift and it's a heavy lift for Boeing," Nolen said.

Congress could opt to waive those cockpit alerting requirements or give Boeing an extension. "We are going to let the 10 take whatever time takes to do it safely," Nolen said. "The decision as to whether or not it goes beyond the new year rests with Congress."

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.