Boeing May Be Getting Too Much Leeway From the FAA
The agency, which wants to loosen its scrutiny, needs to make sure the planemaker doesn’t fall into its old ways.
Don’t get too far off the chain.
Photographer: David Ryder/Bloomberg
Boeing Co. has been getting a flood of aircraft orders, partly because of White House jawboning during tariff negotiations. President Donald Trump has championed Boeing as the driver of aerospace exports, one of the few industries in which the US has a trade surplus.
The rebound of Boeing’s finances doesn’t hinge on capturing more orders and swelling its backlog. The planemaker’s focus now is to ramp up production and complete the certification work on new aircraft, 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.