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.
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.
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.
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Boeing is still limited to an output of 38 737 Max aircraft per month, though the company is trying to raise that cap.
The news comes on the heels of the FAA allowing Boeing to issue airworthiness certificates again, but only in a limited way for certain 737 Max and 787 jets. These certificates are official documents that confirm a plane is safe to fly.
The FAA stopped allowing Boeing to issue airworthiness certificates for 737 Max airplanes in 2019 during their return to service after the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes, for 787 airplanes in 2022 due to production quality problems, and again restricted Boeing’s role on the 737 Max in 2024 following the Alaska Airlines incident. The FAA began restoring limited delegation on Sept. 29, 2025.
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"Safety drives everything we do, and the FAA will only allow this step forward because we are confident it can be done safely," the FAA said. "This decision follows a thorough review of Boeing’s ongoing production quality and will allow our inspectors to focus additional surveillance in the production process."
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The FAA said it will continue to maintain direct and rigorous oversight of Boeing's production processes.
