Expects To Manufacture 34 737's Per Month By Early 2012

Production rates on Boeing's Next-Generation 737 program will crank up to 34 airplanes per month in early 2012, the company said  Monday. The planned rate increase is aimed at satisfying continued strong demand for the Next-Generation 737. In addition, the company continues to study further potential 737 rate increases, given continued customer demand.

"With over 5,200 sold to date, the Next-Generation 737 is the workhorse in our customers' fleets around the world," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh. "Even through the global economic downturn, our diverse 737 backlog has remained very strong. Increasing the 737 production rate is the right thing to do to meet the growth and fleet replacement needs of our customers."

The current production rate on the 737 program is 31.5 airplanes per month. Suppliers for the 737 program are prepared to support the rate increase. The production rate decision is not expected to have a material impact on 2010 financial results.

"The global economy continues to recover this year and we believe that airlines will return to profitability in 2011," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We believe that there will be an increased demand for airplanes - especially in the market served by the Next-Generation 737 - in 2012 and beyond."

FMI: www.boeing.com