FAA: Boeing Not Cleared for Full Authority Despite Progress

‍SINGAPORE — At an industry conference in Singapore on Monday, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford said Boeing is making progress but still “needs to do more” before it can fully regain the delegated airworthiness/certification responsibilities curtailed after repeated quality lapses.

Bedford also described a longer-term intent to return more final-check responsibility to the manufacturer while repositioning government staff deeper inside production facilities, with more embedded oversight rather than simply “signing off at the end.”

The FAA has already restored limited authority for the company to issue airworthiness certificates under its delegation framework, and it renewed Boeing’s Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) for three years, effective June 1, 2025.

On production, the 737 line moved from a 38/month cap (imposed after the January 2024 door-plug incident) toward 42/month, which both the company and multiple third-party reports describe as a key recovery milestone.

Bedford separately told reporters (Bloomberg) the FAA was still evaluating a request to push Boeing 737 MAX output beyond 42/month (to 47/month).

The Trust to Regain

Restoring limited delegation while keeping enhanced oversight signals that regulators are trying to balance two competing realities: airlines desperately need deliveries, but Boeing’s credibility after years of lapses requires verifiable, repeatable process control. 

The FAA basically wants a phased handback tied to measurable factory discipline (rework, traveled work, audit findings), with inspectors increasingly embedded earlier in the build flow rather than just at final signoff.

This approach matters because it directly governs how fast output can scale and how smoothly long-delayed programs move through certification, even as the Boeing 737 MAX line works beyond the post-crisis 38-per-month cap toward higher rates.

For Boeing, Bedford’s message was clear: There’s progress, but not a “back to normal” one.

The American aerospace giant reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on January 27, 2026, after closing the sale of portions of its Digital Aviation Solutions business, which generated a US$9.6 billion gain and dominated the quarter’s bottom line.

On the commercial side, the Seattle-based manufacturer delivered 160 aircraft in Q4 and 600 in 2025—the highest annual delivery total since 2018—yet still recorded an operating loss of $632 million for the quarter and an operating loss of US$7.1 billion for the full year, underscoring that higher output didn’t fully translate into healthier unit economics.