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United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ:UAL) asked Boeing (NYSE:BA) to stop building 737 Max 10 jets as the carrier switches to a smaller variant of the narrowbody plane and places orders with rival Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY) (OTCPK:EADSF).
Boeing’s (BA) stock on Tuesday fell as much as 4.5% to touch a four-month low.
“We’ve asked Boeing to stop building Max 10s, which they’ve done, for us and start building Max 9s,” Scott Kirby, chief executive of United (UAL), said Tuesday at a JPMorgan investor conference. “It’s impossible to say when Max 10 is going to get certified.”
After the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approves the Max 10 to fly, which is expected this year, United (UAL) plans to switch back to the longer plane. The certification is uncertain as Boeing (BA) grapples with manufacturing problems and several investigations into its quality controls.
United (UAL) previously had 277 firm orders on the books for the Max 10, along with options to buy 200 more planes.
The midair blowout of a door plug from a 737 Max 9 flown by Alaska Airlines (ALK) flight on January 5 led to more intense scrutiny of the company’s factory operations. The FAA last month said Boeing (BA) had 90 days to fix “systemic” deficiencies with quality control.
