Boeing, debuting its 737 Max 10 during the flying display at the Farnborough Airshow, is encouraged that orders for the Max program have reached 1,000 since the family’s return to service and it expects to bring in more this week.

“I think it’s going to be a robust show,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal, noting demand is returning. He added: “Stay tuned for Monday.”

Deal addressed concerns regarding risks surrounding the certification of the Max 10, saying the company remains focused on the primary path to certification. To do that, it must demonstrate to the FAA that the flight deck configuration in the Max 10 meets an equivalent level of safety to a more modern engine indicating and crew alerting system. But if Boeing can’t accomplish that by year-end, it will have to get an exemption from a congressionally-set mandate.

The next step, Deal said, calls for “having the FAA on the airplane.” Boeing is working to resolve questions the agency may have, he explained, and noted that cancellation "is not a high probability." 

Since returning to service after a worldwide grounding following two fatal accidents, Boeing has delivered 450 Maxes. However, as it moves toward certification of the Max 7 and 10, Boeing will maintain the production rate at 31 monthly despite Airbus's move to increase its production of A320s. Deal cited barriers involving supply chain issues and said that human capital—the ability to bring back workers—ranks among the biggest hurdles to ramping up production.

He conceded that Boeing underestimated the length of time it would take for workers to return and overestimated the ability to draw them back post-pandemic. Deal added that the company has formulated internal forecasts for production increases and is discussing those plans with suppliers but wants to ensure it is prepared before making such a move.

Meanwhile, he said Boeing has gotten “very close” to the resumption of deliveries of the 787, shipments of which have stalled for more than a year over production flaws. While not willing to put a timeframe on when deliveries might resume, Deal characterized the situation as in the ninth inning of the ballgame with no extra innings expected. He added that Boeing is preparing the initial aircraft for deliveries.

He added he believes that Boeing has satisfied concerns surrounding 787 production and the company plans to get a third-party audit that should validate its changes.

While orders have slowed during the production halt—although he noted Boeing has notched a few—Deal anticipates that sales will pick up again once deliveries resume. Not only will the resumption of deliveries encourage buyers, but so will the return of international traffic from its Covid-related doldrums, encouraging buyers of widebody, long-haul routes.