Wrong holes, loose screws in the rudder and a few days ago part of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane came off during a flight of a brand new plane. The American manufacturer Boeing is struggling to find its footing again and get out of the crisis, which started a few years ago with the crash of two new aircraft. Manufacturing problems at Boeing have given the European consortium Airbus a significant lead in the international aircraft market. The new 737 Max incident tarnishes the reputation of David Calhoun, the new chief of the American manufacturer, who has pledged to get Boeing back on track after the most difficult years in the company’s history.

On the flight of a 737-9 Max from Portland to Ontario on Friday, part of the fuselage came off, leaving passengers exposed to the weather at a relatively high altitude, fortunately with no casualties. Alaska Airlines pilots were able to land the plane safely at the nearest airport and none of the 171 passengers were injured. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) immediately ordered a temporary grounding of more than 170 aircraft worldwide while imposing technical inspections. However, according to the European aviation authority EASA, the FAA’s decisions do not concern aircraft in the EU.

Both the recent incident with the Alaskan aircraft and the earlier ones seem to be related to the rather problematic Max, i.e. the last generation of the very successful international 737, which first took to the airwaves in the 1960s. It should be noted that the medium-haul aircraft are the most sought-after type of aircraft and that the Max provides Boeing with most of its revenue.

The troubled 737 Max is costing Boeing many billions

With the 737 Max 9 the American aeronautical company wanted to oppose something to the extremely successful Airbus A320neo. About five years ago, however, a new generation Boeing 737 crashed, killing 346 people. In response, the authorities imposed an international flight ban on the type in question. As of March 2019, the Max remained grounded. A year and a half later, the first flight permits of the American aircraft began to be issued timidly.

The two plane crashes cost the American manufacturer many billions. After four consecutive years of losses, everything indicates that 2023 will not be profitable either. In addition to problems at other Boeing operations, scheduled deliveries of the 737 Max have been delayed twice. First due to defects in the rear fuselage section and then due to problematic holes in the pressure bulkhead that closes the aircraft cabin at the rear. Supplier Spirit Aerosystems, which used to belong to Boeing and now makes about 70% of the 737’s fuselages, appears to be responsible for these defects.

So far it is not clear what were the causes of the accident on the Alaska Airlines aircraft. Ever since Boeing’s two Max crashes, every new plane has had to get the go-ahead from the US Civil Aviation Administration to be cleared to fly. Continued manufacturing problems and difficulties in supply chains could create a climate of concern for shareholders, Swiss bank UBS warned.

New aircraft deliveries are delayed

In the race to dominate the airwaves, Boeing has long since lost the lead to Airbus. At the end of November, the American company recorded 4,500 orders for the 737 Max, while the European Airbus around 6,700 for the A320neo. Airbus chief Guillaume Faury’s goal is to increase production of the A320neo to 75 aircraft per month by 2026. That’s one and a half times more aircraft than Boeing is aiming for for the 737 Max.

Expert Richard Abulafia of the aviation consultancy Aerodynamic estimates that Boeing will not be able to increase production of the 737 Max as quickly as it plans under the current conditions. This means that airlines such as Ryanair or Lufthansa will have to wait even longer for the new aircraft they ordered and will be forced to change their flight schedules.