Boeing To Restart Production Of All Commercial Aircraft At Washington State Facilities

Boeing Co. BA announced Thursday the resumption in manufacturing of all its commercial aircraft, in a phased manner, at its Puget Sound-region facilities from next week.

What Happened

Boeing expects approximately 27,000 workers at its Puget Sound facilities to resume production of all models, including the Boeing 737 MAX, between April 20-24. The aerospace company’s South Carolina operations remain suspended. Defense production has already restarted earlier this week with 2,500 employees.

The company will take measures such as implementing staggered shifts, ensuring there are markings on the floor to create physical distance between employees, making face-covering compulsory, providing personal protective equipment to those working in areas where it is required, and asking employees to do a self-health check before reporting for work.

Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said, “The health and safety of our employees, their families and communities is our shared priority.” He added, “This phased approach ensures we have a reliable supply base, our personal protective equipment is readily available and we have all of the necessary safety measures in place to resume essential work for our customers.”

Why It Matters

Boeing is restarting production at a time when demand for air travel is at its nadir. Flightradar24, a flight-tracking app, reports between March 7 and April 7, the North American flights they tracked plummeted from 8,400 to 2,950. Countries such as India, have halted nearly all commercial flights while in China, traffic at the busiest airports is down by 60% from normal levels.

In March, the aerospace manufacturer delivered just 20 planes, 12 of which were commercial aircraft. One hundred fifty orders for the MAX planes were canceled, according to the Seattle Times.

737 MAX planes have not flown since March 2019,  after two catastrophically fatal crashes in the span of 5 months cast doubt on the plane’s safety.

Last month Boeing asked a minimum of $60 billion in government aid, describing itself as the “number one US exporter.” The CARES Act has a provision for $17 billion in loans and guarantees for companies essential to national security. According to the Wall Street Journal, this provision was partly aimed at Boeing.

Price Action

Boeing shares traded 8.76% higher at $146 in the after-hours session on Thursday. The shares had closed the regular session 8.04% lower at $134.24.