Boeing

Boeing managed to deliver a small number of 737 MAX jets after a strike by machinists shut down the Renton, Wash., factory that builds the planes. But deliveries are expected to slow substantially as the walkout stretches into its second month. The jet maker delivered 33 planes last month, including 28 737s. That’s down form 40 jets overall in August and 32 737s. The company says it was able to slip out some delivery-ready planes after the strike started September 13. Analysts estimate Boeing built 10 737s in September, well off the company’s goal of 38 per month.

Boeing’s (BA) expected recovery, including its target of boosting production of Max aircraft to 38 units per month by the end of 2024, will likely be delayed by an ongoing strike by unionized workers which began Friday, S&P Global Ratings said Monday. S&P said the employee walkout by machinists will not immediately affect its credit rating or its longer-term outlook for the planemaker. The ratings agency said Boeing should be able to weather the financial impact of a strike lasting only a few weeks or so, noting the company had roughly $12.6 billion in cash on hand at the end of June and also has access to around $10 billion in undrawn credit facilities. Longer term, however, the S&P analysts said, “We believe an extended strike would be costly and difficult to absorb, given the company’s already strained financial position.” S&P currently rates Boeing debt at BBB-. Boeing already is

Shares in Boeing fall in premarket trading in the U.S. after the company’s largest union went on strike. Its stock is down nearly 4% at $156.55 after workers rejected a contract offer that would have raised pay by 25% over four years. In 2008, a 57 day strike over pay negotiations cost Boeing an estimated $100 million a day. The strike comes at a time when the indebted plane manufacturer may require an enormous equity raise to fix its balance sheet, Robert Stallard, equity analyst at Vertical Research Partners, wrote ahead of the vote to strike. In some delivery lines, Boeing has an excess inventory of material and therefore the strike may be a good opportunity to reset supplier deliveries, he adds. Boeing’s Frankfurt listed shares trade down 4% at 141.68 euros.

Boeing’s (BA) labor troubles continued after union rank-and-file on Thursday rejected a tentative contract proposal negotiated by the company and the union leadership and opted to go on strike. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said on its website that 94.6% of the 30,000 Boeing workers voted to reject the contract and 96% voted in favor of a labor action. The union said its negotiating team “will regroup and begin planning the next steps on securing an agreement that our membership can approve.” Boeing said in a statement that it was clear the tentative agreement was unacceptable to its workers. “We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union, and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement,” the company said. Shares of the plane maker were down nearly 4.8% in Friday’s premarket activity.

Boeing’s (BA) deliveries and orders declined month over month for August, while the plane maker’s share price was falling in late-afternoon trade. The company delivered 40 jets last month, including 32 737 Max aircraft, down from a total of 43 in July, but up from 35 a year earlier, according to data posted on its website. It booked 22 orders in August, down from 72 the previous month and 45 a year earlier. Boeing shares were falling 2.3% in Tuesday late-afternoon trade. The company’s latest 737 supplier master schedule indicates that Max production will now reach 42 per month in March 2025, compared with a previous estimate of September this year, Reuters reported Monday, citing three industry sources. “We note the (Federal Aviation Administration) production limit on the Max of 38 (per month) remains in place indefinitely as (Boeing), investors, and the aerospace community overall wait for a green light

Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union have a tentative agreement to avoid a strike at the aircraft maker’s key Washington facilities. That should help the stock on Monday. On Sunday, Boeing announced it had reached a tentative agreement with the union covering some 33,000 workers in the Pacific Northwest, where the company builds 737 MAX and 777 jets. The existing labor contract expires on Sept. 12. Union membership will still have to ratify the new contract. “We have reached a tentative agreement with the union on a historic offer that takes care of you and your family,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope in a video message to employees. “The contract offer provides the largest-ever general wage increase, lower medical cost share to make healthcare more affordable, greater company contributions toward your retirement, and improvements for a better work-life balance.” The tentative agreement includes

NASA’s decision to bring Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home on a SpaceX spacecraft represents ‘another hit’ for Boeing, says Jefferies As the saga of Boeing Co.’s Starliner spacecraft continues, the aerospace company has recorded more than $1 billion in forward losses, according to analyst firm Jefferies. The latest twist in the Starliner saga came Saturday when NASA said that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will return to Earth on a SpaceX capsule, after the Starliner spacecraft that took them to the International Space Station was bes

Boeing (BA) Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg told union representatives this week that he is “committed to reset” the company’s relationship with workers as the aircraft maker heads into labor negotiations next month, Bloomberg reported Friday. Ortberg held meetings with the presidents of Boeing’s largest union and another labor group during his first week on the job and said he wanted a new contract “where we can come together to build a strong future for our employees in the region,” Bloomberg reported, citing a memo sent to Boeing employees. The company is in the “final phase” of contract negotiations with labor groups representing over 33,000 workers, according to the memo.

Boeing delivered 43 airplanes in July, a second straight relatively solid month for the jet maker as it works to ramp up production amid supply-chain glitches and in the wake of January’s Alaska Airlines door-plug blowout. That total included 32 737 jets, three fewer than Boeing delivered in June but higher than earlier in the year when it was delivering between 15 and 25 narrowbodies per month. Deliveries included six 787s, four 767s and one 777 freighter. Boeing’s backlog is now 5,477, down from 5,506 at the end of June.

Boeing Delivered 218 Airplanes Year-To-Date Through July, Including 166 MAX; Reports 43 Commercial Jet Deliveries In July, Matching Last Year’s Numbers, With 31 737 MAX; 228 Gross Aircraft Orders Through July, 72 In July Alone Including 57 For 737 MAX; Net 186 Orders After Cancellations/Conversions; Six 787 Jets Delivered In July; One 737 MAX Cancellation From Aerolineas Argentinas

Israel’s planned order for up to 50 of Boeing’s revamped F-15 fighter jets and modernization of another 25 aircraft underpins plans to boost annual output to 25 as early as next year. The potential $18.8 billion deal, notified to Congress on Tuesday, would involve deliveries from 2029. That’s some 41 years after the plane was initially deployed by the U.S. Air Force, which received the first of its revamped F-15EX models in June.

By James Rogers ‘These commercial companies cannot afford to have an accident because it could completely end their program,’ notes former astronaut Eileen Collins Boeing Co.’s confidence in the ability of its Starliner space capsule to bring NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back home to earth “speaks volumes” amid the uncertainty swirling around the troubled mission, according to former Space Shuttle commander Eileen Collins. There was a major twist in the Starliner saga last week when NASA discussed the possibility of bringing astronauts Wilmore and Williams back to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. But in a statement released after NASA’s Aug. 7 press conference, Boeing (BA) said that Starliner could still bring Wilmore and Williams safely home. “Crew Flight Test is currently a crewed mission, and we still believe in Starliner’s capability and its flight rationale,” the company said. “If NASA decides to change the mission,