• Boeing said it will further delay the launch of two new 737 Max variants to 2026.
• The delays come as the planemaker wrestles with a potential issue regarding the plane's deicing.
• "We're going to have to back up and make some additional design changes," said CEO Kelly Ortberg.

A pair of upcoming variants of Boeing's most popular plane, the 737 Max have been further delayed to 2026, CEO Kelly Ortberg confirmed in an earnings call Tuesday.

Achieving certification for the Max 7 and Max 10 will be a key benchmark for Ortberg, who is approaching one year at the helm and has been leading Boeing's turnaround.

The company had initially hoped the Max 7, the shortest version of the flagship narrow-body jet, would be certified in 2022.

However, it has been constrained by work on the engine anti-ice system, a key safety feature that prevents ice from building up during cold weather conditions and at high altitude.

"Work on the solution is taking longer than expected, and we now are expecting certification in 2026," Ortberg said on the second-quarter earnings call.

The delay was first reported last week by industry publication The Air Current.

Back in 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration warned that the system could cause the engine to overheat — and potentially result in debris breaking off and hitting the plane.

Boeing then requested an exemption, saying an engine breakup is "extremely improbable," but withdrew this request in January 2024 as it faced a safety crisis in the wake of the Alaska Airlines blowout.

Figuring out a solution for the complex system has been far from straightforward.

Ortberg told investors on Tuesday that Boeing has been exploring different design paths.

"We found some issues with the design implementation we had, so we're going to have to back up and make some additional design changes to get through that de-icing requirement," he said.

"Basically, the engineering designs have not yielded in the time frame that we were anticipating, and so we still have work to do."

His comments came after Ryanair's earnings call last week, when CEO Michael O'Leary said Boeing's commercial airplanes chief wrote to confirm the airline's first 15 Max 10s would be delivered in the spring of 2027.

A Boeing spokesperson said: "We are maturing a technical solution that includes design updates. The modifications would be included in the baseline certification of the 737-7 and 737-10. We are finalizing our analysis and will present the information to the FAA. We will continue to work under their rigorous oversight to meet safety and regulatory requirements."

Meanwhile, Boeing is also working to certify the 777X — a twin-engine wide-body jet, also years behind schedule. It's now expected to enter service in 2026 as well.

"Flight testing continues with no new technical issues to report," Ortberg said during the earnings call.

Boeing reported quarterly revenues above expectations of $22.7 billion, with a net loss of $612 million.

It's been ramping up production of its cash-cow 737 Max, reaching the 38-a-month limit imposed by the FAA.

Its share price fell about 4% on Tuesday, but is still up more than 30% since the start of the year.

Not surprisingly, Congress is pushing back against the Trump administration's proposal to cancel the Space Launch System, the behemoth rocket NASA has developed to propel astronauts back to the Moon.

Spending bills making their way through both houses of Congress reject the White House's plan to wind down the SLS rocket after two more launches, but the text of a draft budget recently released by the House Appropriations Committee suggests an openness to making some major changes to the program.

The next SLS flight, called Artemis II, is scheduled to lift off early next year to send a crew of four astronauts around the far side of the Moon. Artemis III will follow a few years later on a mission to attempt a crew lunar landing at the Moon's south pole. These missions follow Artemis I, a successful unpiloted test flight in 2022.

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• An Air India Boeing 787 crashed less than a minute after takeoff on Thursday.
• The crash comes as both Boeing and Air India are trying to turn themselves around.
• Attorneys and aviation experts said no conclusions could be drawn until the investigation ended.

Thursday's fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787 shortly after takeoff comes as both the airline and Boeing try to revive their public images.

After 2024 became an annus horribilis for Boeing, 2025 is crucial for the planemaker to show it is successfully overhauling its processes.

CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over last year and has made the turnaround the centerpiece of his leadership, has scrapped plans to travel to next week's Paris Air Show, CNBC and Bloomberg reported. The event is a crucial industry showcase. Neither Boeing nor Air India responded to requests for comment from Business Insider.

On Thursday, Ortberg shared the company's "deepest condolences" to everyone affected and said a team stood ready to support the investigation.

After visiting the crash site Friday morning, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said in a video statement, "We know that the investigations will take time but we will be fully transparent and will support the process for as long as it takes."

"Air India will continue to do everything we can to care for those affected by this tragedy, and to uphold the trust placed in us," he added.

'The crash derails Boeing stock's positive momentum'

When an Alaska Airlines 737 Max lost a door plug during a January 2024 flight, regulators capped Boeing's production of the type. A seven-week strike then shut down key facilities, further hurting revenue.

Boeing ended 2024 as the Dow Jones' biggest loser, as its share price fell 31%. Investors had been reassured by Ortberg's work to turn the company around, and the stock had risen more than 20% in 2025 before the crash.

It dropped about 4% after Thursday's crash and fell more than 3% Friday morning.

Morgan Stanley analysts said Thursday that the crash "derails the positive momentum on Boeing's stock."

Jeff Windau, a senior industrials analyst for Edward Jones, said in a research note that he expects near-term volatility and raised the possibility of enhanced scrutiny on Boeing's processes.

"However, at this time, we do not feel there will be a long-term impact to production," he added.

Air India has been working to turn itself around

Following decades of state ownership and huge losses, Air India was acquired by the Tata Group in 2022. The airline has expanded with hundreds of additional flights, flying 60 million customers to 103 destinations through 2024.

The new owners invested billions, and the airline has ordered hundreds of planes to replace its aging fleet.

In a December interview with BI, Wilson compared his work revitalising Air India to "drinking from a firehose."

He added that he thought the turnaround was close to completion, but said there were supply-chain constraints. "Until we upgrade the aircraft, then people won't believe that the transformation has happened," Wilson said.

Alan Tan, an aviation law professor at the National University of Singapore, told BI that Air India in particular would have an immediate hit to customer perception.

"But as other leading airlines facing crises have shown, these are not insurmountable," he added. "Transparency and accountability in investigations, and consistent messaging to the public, will hopefully reduce the risks of a media spectacle."

A lengthy investigation

It will take a thorough and lengthy investigation before there are answers about what caused the crash.

Attorneys who have battled Boeing in the courts were among the people BI spoke to who were hesitant to draw any conclusions.

"The fact that this tragedy involves a Boeing aircraft does not necessarily mean that there's something wrong with the actual aircraft — as distinguished from issues surrounding maintenance, or even products that are not Boeing's, such as the engines," said Robert Clifford, lead counsel for the families of victims of the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash, in which a 737 Max crashed shortly after takeoff, killing more than 150 people.

He added that a quick and efficient investigation is necessary to "help calm the public."

Thursday's incident was the first fatal crash and total hull loss of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, one of the most advanced passenger jets, which entered service in 2011.

The model has faced some criticism from whistleblowers. Last year, Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer at Boeing, told NBC he observed "shortcuts to reduce bottlenecks" in manufacturing 787s. Boeing responded that it was "fully confident in the 787 Dreamliner."

On Thursday, Salehpour's attorneys urged the Federal Aviation Administration to release a report investigating his claims.

Richard Aboulafia, managing director at Aerodynamic Advisory, told BI, "It's a terrible tragedy, but I just don't see how this impacts anything [for Boeing]."

"Unless it's the unlikely event that they do find a design or manufacturing flaw, but after all these years, both for this type of aircraft and this particular aircraft, that's not normal," he added.

• Boeing secured a record-breaking $96 billion order from Qatar Airways during Donald Trump's trip.
• It was one of several wins this week, showing the planemaker is recovering from a troubling 2024.
• Trump's support came after tensions over Air Force One delays and concerns over a Qatari gift.

Boeing showed it's bouncing back from its turmoil as it won several victories from Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East.

On Wednesday, Qatar Airways agreed to buy at least 160 Boeing jets, in a deal the White House valued at $96 billion. It is the planemaker's largest-ever order for wide-body aircraft.

While the two CEOs signed certificates and shook hands, Trump and the Emir of Qatar applauded from behind the ornate desk. The president gave Boeing's Kelly Ortberg a pat on the back.

It's rare to see heads of state attend aircraft-order ceremonies. Trump's show of support for Boeing was a notable turn from the tensions between the two over delays in building the next Air Force One.

Receiving such a huge vote of confidence from an industry-leading airline is also a significant boost, especially since the order includes 30 Boeing 777X planes and options for dozens more.

The 777X is yet to be certified, running years behind schedule, meaning Qatar's order is a big show of faith in Boeing's future. Flight tests for the 777X had to be paused last August after damage was found on a key structure.

Several customers, including the largest, Emirates, voiced their frustrations after Ortberg then announced its launch would be further pushed back to 2026.

However, Qatar Airways has never dwelt on the delays. "Let us not cry over spilled milk," CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer told Business Insider last July.

Boeing is also likely to benefit from Tuesday's defense deal with Saudi Arabia, which the White House called "the largest defense-sales agreement in history," at roughly $142 billion.

These are all significant signs that the planemaker hasn't lost too much of its reputation after an ignominious 2024.

The year began with a door plug falling off a 737 Max in midair. Regulators subsequently capped Boeing's production as it works to overhaul its processes.

This week has seen progress here, too, as Boeing said it delivered 45 commercial planes last month — almost double the number in the same period last year.

Trump's change of heart

Even before Qatar Airways' order, planes were dominating the headlines around Trump's trip.

The president said Monday he would be "stupid" to turn down the Qatari royal family's proposed gift of a Boeing 747.

It has raised ethical and legal concerns, with politicians on both sides of the aisle questioning the gift. The luxurious $400 million plane would be one of the most expensive gifts ever received by the government from another country.

The timing may also raise questions about Qatar's motivation for announcing the mammoth Boeing order during Trump's visit, rather than at next month's Paris Air Show.

Trump wants the 747 to serve as Air Force One because Boeing is running years behind schedule in building the next presidential jet. He renegotiated the contract in his first term, and the planemaker has since lost billions on the project.

In February, Trump showed his frustration with the delays by touring a Qatari Boeing 747 in Palm Beach — believed to be the one now on offer.

So, his support for Boeing in Qatar shows a change of heart that will likely please the planemaker and help settle any apprehension over Air Force One.

The country's top exporter, Boeing, was also under threat from Trump's tariff plans.

Jets destined for Chinese airlines had to be sent back across the Pacific Ocean after they refused to accept them due to the trade war. On Monday, China and the US agreed to lower tariffs by 115%.

But overall, that may not be as valuable as the reputation boost provided during Trump's trip.

This week has helped the storied planemaker prove that it's moving on from the woes of 2024.