Boeing may be getting TOO MUCH FAA leeway

BOEING HAS BEEN getting a flood of aircraft orders, partly because of White House jawboning during tariff negotiations. President Donald Trump has championed Boe-ingas the driver of aerospace exports, one of the few industries in which the US has a trade surplus.

- THOMAS BLACK

The rebound of Boeing’s finances doesn’t hinge on capturing more orders and swelling its backlog. The planemaker’s focus nowis to ramp up production and complete the certification work on newaircraft,including the 777X and the 737 Max 10. Increased production will generate cash and put planes into the hands of airlines, which have been forced to fly older jets longer than they want. Increased production, including for the 787 Dreamliner, will solve most of Boeing’s problems.

Soit comes with some concern that the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday that it was taking initial steps to take the leash off Boeing after the firm had been under close regulatory scrutiny followinga series of accidents. The FAA said itwould allow Boeing workers to issue certificates that deemanewaircraft safe to operate. Boeing and the FAAwill issue the certificates on alternating weeks, the agency said. The agency was clear that it will continue to have “direct and rigorous oversight of Boeing’s production processes”. This move is seen asa step toward authorising Boeing to increase 737 Max production beyond the current limit of 38 amonth.