Why Boeing’s future still rests on the 737 Max’s recovery

The Max holds outsize importance for Boeing, both financially and competitively. Which is precisely why the grounding left the US aerospace behemoth in such a competitive pickle, and why the type’s rebound is key to Boeing’s recovery, aerospace analysts say.

There was a time not long ago when the 737 Max held the promise of fuelling several more decades of profitability for Boeing.

After all, before two crashes and an 18-month grounding, the Chicago-based airframer held some 4,700 737 orders and was eyeing production rates exceeding 52 jets monthly.