Boeing reportedly working on replacement aircraft for 737 Max

Boeing is reportedly developing a new single-aisle airplane that will eventually replace its 737 Max aircraft, which has faced a spate of safety-related issues. 

The aerospace giant’s CEO, Kelly Ortberg, met with officials at Rolls-Royce Holdings in the U.K. earlier this year to discuss a new engine for the aircraft, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. 

Boeing’s commercial plane business has a new senior product chief whose prior role was developing a new type of aircraft. The person was appointed to lead this division by Ortberg. 

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg reportedly met with officials at Rolls-Royce Holdings in the U.K. earlier this year to discuss a new engine for the aircraft. (Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The company is simultaneously designing the flight deck of a new narrow-body aircraft, the people told the Journal. It is still in the early-stage development phase and plans are still taking shape, the people said. 

A Boeing spokesperson told FOX Business that its teams “continue to be focused on our recovery plan, including delivering on our existing backlog of nearly 6,000 commercial airplanes” as well as certifying its new 737-7, 737-10 and 777-9 models.

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“At the same time, as we have done over the decades, our team evaluates the market, advances key technologies, and improves our financial performance, so that we will be ready when the time is right to move forward with a new product,” the spokesperson said. 

FOX Business reached out to Rolls-Royce for comment.  

The 737 Max is Boeing’s flagship fuel-efficient narrow-body jet, but it was grounded worldwide in March 2019 and lasted for nearly 20 months, the longest grounding in modern aviation history, after two back-to-back crashes involving the plane.

Boeing 737 Max aircraft are assembled at Boeing’s Renton Factory in Renton, Washington, on June 25, 2024. (Photo by JENNIFER BUCHANAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 plunged into the Java Sea, killing all 189 people on board and in March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 people on board.

In late 2020, after regulators approved design changes, airlines began returning the aircraft to service. But Boeing’s challenges with the airplane persisted.

The company continued to face ongoing scrutiny and regulatory constraints, particularly after a door-plug panel blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 mid-flight in January 2024, causing the FAA to implement a production cap and temporarily suspend certification authority for Boeing.