Boeing is determining how many planes Spirit alerted on Wednesday. 2019 may return.
Boeing declined to say if the issue may delay 737 manufacturing this year as it hurries to deliver 400 MAXs in 2023. The business supplied 111 MAXs in the first quarter and is expected to expand monthly output from 31 to 38 by June.
“We have notified the FAA of the issue and are working to conduct inspections and replace the non-conforming fittings where necessary,” Boeing said. “We regret the impact this issue will have on affected customers and are contacting them about their delivery schedule.”
United Airlines (UAL.O) said late Thursday after Boeing discussions that “at this time we do not expect any significant impact on our capacity plans for this summer or the rest of the year.”
Spirit is experiencing fuselage damage. As a result, FAA airworthiness orders are expected.
After the 2018 and 2019 plane disasters, the FAA closely monitored Boeing jets. All 737 MAX and 787 deliveries are FAA-inspected. Manufacturers manage FAA airline tickets.
