Boeing’s most relatable problem: Finding a parking spot

livemint.com:

Boeing has a parking problem. Parts shortages and other issues have left the jet maker with about 200 fully or mostly finished airplanes sitting in airfields, outside plants and—in one location—an employee parking lot. Some of the planes are awaiting interiors; others need engines.

Dozens more are awaiting delivery to China. Unable to fly, the planes aren’t delivering much-needed cash as the jet maker burns through more than $1 billion a month. And they present a host of logistical challenges.

Planes sitting around too long may need software or other updates. Moving unfinished jets is tricky, especially if the part they are missing is the engine, as is the case with a handful of 777 freighters. “It kind of begs the question: When are you going to deliver these things," said Ron Epstein, an aerospace analyst at Bank of America.

“They can only sit around so long before you have to do something with them." The predicament comes as the jet maker grapples with production slowdowns and regulatory scrutiny in the wake of January’s near catastrophe on an Alaska Airlines flight. Those problems have little to do with the parking overflow—in fact, they may be helping. Because Boeing is building planes more slowly as it works to improve quality, fewer planes are piling up than if its factories were operating at full speed.

Boeing has delivered 175 planes through June of this year, compared with 266 through the first half of 2023. This isn’t the most dire parking predicament Boeing has faced in recent years. Following the grounding of Boeing’s bestselling 737 MAX due to crashes in 2018 and 2019, the company had about 450 of those planes stashed in its facilities.