Boeing has been assuring customers the fallout will be short-lived, and Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave is expected to provide an update on the ramifications of the wiring issue on March 17.
Boeing Co. is repairing damaged wiring in as many as 25 undelivered 737 Max jets, disrupting near-term deliveries of the aircraft, people familiar with the matter said.
While some March deliveries will be delayed, the impact isn't likely to be as extensive as the company had initially anticipated, one of the people said.
Boeing has handed over just three 737 Max jets so far this month, and the last deliveries were March 4, according to data from Cirium Ltd., an aviation analytics company. That's a sharp drop from February, when the company handed over 43 of the jets, the best tally for that month in nearly a decade.
Shares in the US planemaker tumbled 3% on March 10 when the company reported the latest quality flaw in its money-spinning narrowbody jet. It didn't disclose how many aircraft were affected by the lapse.
Boeing has been assuring customers the fallout will be short-lived, said some of the people who asked not to be identified because the discussions are confidential.
The company declined to elaborate beyond its statement Tuesday when it said "wires that have small scratches due to a machining error" were found in a group of aircraft.
The manufacturer said it alerted customers and US regulators and continued to build the jets at a 42-per-month pace. Investors are closely following the ramp-up because higher 737 deliveries are crucial to returning the Arlington, Virginia-based company to better financial footing.
Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave is expected to provide an update on the ramifications of the wiring issue when he addresses a Bank of America Global Industrials Conference on March 17.
Both Boeing and Airbus SE have faced quality lapses and parts shortfalls as they work to return airplane output to a steady cadence.
The US planemaker delivered more jets than its European rival for a second straight month as Airbus grappled with a shortage of engines and defective aluminum panels for its A320neo family models.
Airbus continues to notify customers of new delays while it inspects hundreds of aircraft in production for faulty panels traced to a Spanish supplier.
Air Lease Corp. was told as recently as two weeks ago that a "few more units are being impacted," John Plueger, the leasing company's chief executive officer, said in a March 8 interview. "They're working it as best they can. I think, again, this is a short-lived, probably a 2026, problem."