Boeing 737 Max to resume production ‘months’ earlier than expected
Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun today said he expects the 737 Max aeroplane to return to production earlier than previously stipulated.
The US plane maker in December halted all production of the 737 Max jet following two deadly crashes that killed 346 people.
On Tuesday the company announced that the grounded jet would return to service mid-2020.
In a sharp u-turn, however, Calhoun today said he expected to resume 737 Max production “months” before the proposed timetable.
Boeing “will slowly, steadily bring our production rate up a few months before that date in the middle of the year,” he said.
He declined to provide a specific date for the resumption, but said the company’s decision to endorse pilot simulator training before the return to service would speed up the process.
“We can get this thing back on its horse and we will,” he added.
Calhoun took over the reins in December after ex-chief Dennis Muilenburg was ousted by Boeing’s board amid brewing anger from regulators, politicians and customers.
Muilenburg was denied severance pay, but walked away with more than $60m (£45.7m) in pension benefits and stock.
Shares in the aeroplane maker were down more than five per cent during afternoon trading. The company’s share price has plummeted more than 30 per cent since last February, when the 737 Max jet was grounded.
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