Boeing is considering increasing production of its 737 jet, its most widely flown jet and the backbone of the flydubai fleet.
The Dubai carrier placed its first order of 50 Boeing 737-800 NG planes at the Farnborough Airshow in 2008 and expects to receive its first deliveries of the 737 Max 8s in 2017.
The Boeing 737 competes against the Airbus A320 to claim the lion's share of the global commercial aviation market.
Boeing said it was capable of raising 737 jetliner production by 43 per cent despite analyst concerns over future orders.
Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney said market fundamentals that support higher jetliner production are unchanged, despite recent deferrals of aircraft deliveries by American Airlines and United Continental, which he termed normal fleet optimisation decisions.
Aircraft prices have “not deteriorated”, even for 737 and 777 models that are being replaced by new versions, he told Boeing’s annual investor conference in Chicago.
Mr McNerney reaffirmed Boeing’s goal of generating more than US$9 billion in operating cash flow this year, and said that figure will increase in 2016 and beyond.
He also said Boeing’s defence business would be at the right scale even if it did not win ongoing competitions for major new programmes such as the Long Range Strike Bomber.
“It’s hard to believe we wouldn’t get one of them,” he said. But “we would still be an at scale” as a defence business, and would have the commercial airplane business. “We don’t have to panic,” he said.
He remains confident that there is ample demand for Boeing’s planes such as the 737 and 787, which are largely sold out this decade. Still, some investors are starting to worry that order activity may be tapering off after years of growth, Robert Stallard, a New York-based analyst with RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients.
“Our sense is that investors have valid questions over whether it makes sense to keep raising” output rates, Mr Stallard said.
Boeing is working to increase 737 production to 47 jets a month in 2017, and 52 jets a month the next year, as it introduces an upgraded model of the single-aisle jetliner. Production of the first 737 Max should begin later this month.
* with agencies
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