Boeing to roll out first 737 Max ahead of schedule

Boeing plans to roll out its first 737 Max jetliner on Dec. 8, a significant step in moving toward delivery of the latest version of Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) smallest jet.

Such roll-outs are media events, a signal that flight testing will soon begin.

Actual deliveries to airlines are to start in the third quarter of 2017 to launch customer Southwest Airlines, one of the strongest buyers of the single-aisle jet.

This delivery date is evidence of how smoothly development of the 737 Max has gone, compared to the slow and troubled birth of the 787 Dreamliner. Originally Boeing had planned for the first Max delivery in 2019, but was able to move that up as the aircraft came together in Renton.

Competition also was a factor. Airbus on Tuesday completed certification of the competing A320neo with the European Aviation Safety Agency and Federal Aviation Administration. Airbus is to deliver the first A320 by the end of this year.

The Dec. 8 roll-out of the 737 Max will be preceded by a tour of the assembly line the day before. Opening this third line in has been part of Boeing’s strategy for starting production of the 737 Max without compromising the 42-planes-a-month pace of the other two Renton production lines, which produce the current 737 models.

Boeing also is moving to more automation for all 737 models, such as for wing assembly.

The single-aisle 737 has been in production since 1966 and is the largest contributor to Boeing profits and cash flow, with the company planning to produce more than 700 a year of the new Max by the end of the decade on more automated assembly lines at its Renton plant near Seattle.

It also needs to keep the Max on track to avoid falling further behind Airbus Group SE, which launched its rival A320neo plane 18 months earlier, helping it capture 60% of the market over the past two years. The first plane is set to be delivered to its first customer later this month.

Boeing said it remains on schedule to fly the 737 Max for the first time early next year and deliver to launch customer Southwest Airlines Co. in the third quarter of 2017. The only snafu so far was when Boeing was forced to drop the supplier for part of the thrust reverser, which slows a jet on landing.

The biggest differences in the new Max will be larger and more efficient engines, beefed up wing structures to support those engines, an updated cockpit similar to that in 787 Dreamliner, and an extension to the front landing gear to leave room under the jet for the larger engines.

These improvements mean the Max should burn 14 percent less fuel than the current 737s.

Source: Steve Wilhems Journal & Wall Street Journal