Boeing In Early Stages Of Developing 737 MAX Replacement, WSJ Reports

Boeing is in the early stages of developing a new single-aisle airplane that would eventually replace the 737 MAX, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Rolls-Royce declined to comment, while Boeing did not respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

The 737 MAX entered service in 2017 but was grounded globally in 2019 after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. The incidents slashed Boeing's profits and triggered lawsuits, investigations, and a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted the grounding order in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last Friday, the FAA said it would allow the planemaker to issue airworthiness certificates for some 737 MAX jets, starting this week. This authority had been revoked in 2019 following the second fatal crash involving the model in Ethiopia.

Earlier this year, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg met with officials from Rolls-Royce Holdings in the UK to discuss a new engine for the aircraft, according to the WSJ report.

The U.S. planemaker has also been designing the flight deck of a new narrow-body aircraft, the report said, adding that development remains in the early planning phase, with final decisions yet to be made.

The planemaker told WSJ that its recovery plan remains on track, with priorities including the delivery of roughly 6,000 back-logged commercial airplanes and the certification of previously announced models.

Still, Boeing continues to face regulatory scrutiny.

In early 2024, the FAA imposed a production cap of 38 per month for 737 MAX planes after a mid-air cabin panel blowout on a new Alaska Airlines jet, which was later found to be missing four bolts.

The Alaska Airlines incident prompted the U.S. Justice Department, under then-President Joe Biden, to open a criminal investigation and declare that Boeing was not in compliance with a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement made after the company had misled the FAA during the 737 MAX regulatory certification process.

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