Boeing's Record Order Can't Soar Past Production Woes

Boeing secured a massive order from Korean Air worth $36 billion for 103 airplanes, including 20 777-9s, 25 787-10s, 50 737-10s, and 8 777-8 freighters. This deal is seen as a tangible outcome of US-South Korea trade negotiations and represents half of all sales in the civilian aircraft category annually.

However, just two days later, Boeing's CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors that the company's goal of stabilizing 737-MAX production at 47 airplanes per month is taking 'a little bit longer' than expected. This news led to a 4.5% drop in Boeing's stock price.

The bottleneck in production lies in the wings production area, according to Ortberg, who stated that the company has not seen the flow improvements they had anticipated. The company delivered only 41 Max jets in August, short of their target of 47.

Airlines continue to order Boeing jets despite slow certifications and a recovering public reputation, with Turkish Airlines placing an additional 150 737-MAX orders this week.