Boeing has announced that it will take several weeks to fully resume building passenger planes following a strike that lasted nearly two months. The delay in restarting plants in Washington state and Oregon is attributed to the multiple steps required to resume production.
Airline customers have expressed frustration over the delays in receiving new planes from Boeing, which began before the strike by 33,000 machinists on September 13. The certification schedule for Boeing's new 737 Max models has also been pushed back.
Despite the setbacks, Irish airline Ryanair still anticipates receiving its first 737 Max 10s in the first half of 2027. However, the CEO of American Airlines refrained from providing a specific timeline for when his airline might receive the largest version of the Max, which is pending certification by U.S. regulators.
Boeing workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace faced a deadline to return to work after accepting a contract offer that includes a 38% pay raise over four years but does not reinstate frozen pensions from a decade ago.
The strike halted production of the 737 Max and 777 passenger planes, as well as a cargo-carrying version of the 767 plane. Boeing continued building 787s, produced by nonunion workers in South Carolina.
Boeing reported delivering 14 planes in October, including those completed before the strike. The company also received orders for 63 planes, with leasing company Avia Solutions Group placing an order for 40 737 Max jets.
Boeing's focus now is on resuming production and meeting airline delivery schedules, with the priority being to ensure the quality of the aircraft before ramping up production of the Max models.
