Boeing’s Improvements Encourage Agency, But More Data Wanted

The FAA said on September 8 that no decisions have yet been made regarding the production cap on Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft family. The production limit stands at 38 per month and has been in place since early 2024.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said he is encouraged by Boeing’s improvements but that more data is needed to address some remaining questions on how to best monitor the manufacturer’s progress.

Bedford said, “Progress is being made. It may not be as fast perhaps as Boeing would like but it is as fast as we can reasonably move through the process.”

He continued, “This is going to be a bottom-up process – front-line FAA team that’s really on them to make the recommendation of whether they feel like we’ve reached some of the milestones that would warrant any kind of change. None of those recommendations have come up yet. That tells me the work is still ongoing.”

In late May, Kelly Ortberg, CEO of Boeing, said the company was “pretty confident” about being able to increase production of the  737 MAX aircraft from 37 to 42 per month by the end of the year, but for the time being that doesn’t appear to be happening.

In August 2025, the FAA established a plan to perform scenario-based tabletop exercises with Boeing to assess risk factors before deciding on lifting the cap. At the time, the exercises were still being devised, and completion is expected by the end of September. So there’s a chance the situation will change at that time.

FMI:  www.boeing.com/