Boeing’s Muilenburg Rebuts Talk of Widebody Bubble | Aviation International News

Boeing’s Muilenburg Rebuts Talk of Widebody Bubble

Insists production rate will not fall below seven per month during transition to 777X

Boeing has build 777s at its factory in Everett, Washington, at a rate of 8.3 per month since 2013. (Photo: Boeing)

By Gregory Polek • Senior Editor

October 21, 2015

In an apparent effort to ease investor anxiety about the potential for a so-called widebody “bubble,” Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg insisted that 777 production rates would not drop below seven per month during the transition from the current model to the new 777X. Speaking Wednesday during his company’s third-quarter earnings call with securities analysts, Muilenburg cited factors such as “pulling ahead” automation to help build a bridge from the current 777 to first delivery of the 777X-9 in 2020. Now building 777s at a rate of 8.3 per month, Boeing estimates it will need to sell between 40 and 60 of the big twinjets a year to ensure the smooth transition it says it expects to execute. So far this year collecting firm orders for 44 of the current widebodies, the company reported that it has sold out its complement of 2016 delivery slots and roughly half of its slots for 2017.

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