EVERETT — A new, fourth line for the 737 MAX is coming to Boeing’s Everett plant.
Boeing confirmed Monday, Jan. 30 that the new line would start in the second half of 2024. Employees got a heads-up that morning.
The move fills free space in the plant as 747 production finished in December, but especially helps Boeing rein in a hovering backlog of more than 4,200 unfilled orders for the MAX. And, to optimistic local officials, it signals a commitment to Snohomish County.
The 737 is Boeing’s main bread-and-butter commercial airliner. The 737 MAX is the latest-generation version.
The head of the IAM District 751 union, Jon Holden, said “this is a great opportunity to utilize the space available in Everett. Our members can make a real impact in meeting the production needs for the 737.”
The Everett 737 MAX would be built in area being called the North Line.
Boeing explained this is the area where 787s are getting precision fitment work.
This 787 finishing work will continue in Everett, including in former 747 bays, a Boeing spokesperson said.
The union says most of the team that will open and work on this fourth line will be current Everett employees transitioning from areas where work is winding down.
The other three 737 lines will still be running in Renton.
There had been rumors a 737 line would start in Everett when the 747 wound down.
Boeing, through a spokesperson, said it made the move because “demand for the 737 MAX, especially newer models like the 737-8-200 and 737-10, continues to rise, and adding production capacity will allow us to better meet the needs of our customers. The new line will increase 737 MAX production capacity by 25%. Given the proximity to our 737 factory in Renton, Everett is a great fit with the availability of highly skilled workers and factory space.”
Boeing 737 MAX production is about 375 a year on the three lines. Increasing production by 25% could mean more than 450 a year.
County Executive Dave Somers said in a statement the news confirms the county’s “aerospace future is secure and bright.”
While the 777X is bolted into Boeing Everett’s future — a few key composite components including the wings are built in Everett — 777Xs could be in airline fleets by 2025.
Boeing Everett builds the 767, 777 and 777X, plus the KC-46 tanker military derivative of the 767, and a freighter 777X is in the pipeline.
Some might be on borrowed time, though: Tougher emissions limits for all brand-new planes built Jan. 1, 2028 onward may force retiring the 767 and could ensnare the original 777 as well.
787 production was consolidated to the plant in South Carolina.
If so, until the 737 announcement, a scenario of not building a 747, a 767, a 777 or a 787 would have left just the 777X as the representative long-term big picture for commercial airliner production coming from Everett. The company sells almost 10 times less 777s than any 737s.
Boeing Everett has traditionally built the company’s “widebody” planes.
The 737 is a “narrowbody” plane with a single-aisle layout. If you’ve hopped on a domestic flight, it probably was one of this type.
The Seattle Times’ aerospace reporter broke the story of an internal employee memo announcing the future 737 line.
— Article includes Tribune archive reporting
