(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. is grappling with shortages of engines, semiconductors and other parts, with hiccups seemingly changing by the month and disruptions far from being resolved, executives at the US planemaker said Sunday.

“We’re in the middle of the journey” as Boeing contends with logistics snarls and shortfalls of skilled mechanics in the wake of Covid-19, Stan Deal, who heads the company’s commercial airplane division, told reporters gathered in London ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow.

But there’s a standing rule as Boeing copes with strains at engine maker CFM International Inc. -- the joint venture between General Electric Co. and France’s Safran SA -- that have delayed turbofans for the 737 Max. “I won’t make gliders,” Deal said, using the aerospace industry vernacular for engineless planes.

That’s in contrast to rival Airbus SE, which had around 20 A320neo gliders parked in its factories globally at the end of May. While the European planemaker is pushing ahead with plans to ramp up narrow-body output to a record 65 jets a month by the middle of next year, Boeing is taking a more cautious approach with its 737 Max under the watchful eye of US regulators.

The Arlington, Virginia-based planemaker is holding output steady at around 31 jets per month as it works to match the factory tempo for its 737 Max to parts and components that are arriving in fits and starts, like the jetliner’s LEAP turbofan engines. Boeing underestimated the toll on its workforce and that of its suppliers from layoffs amid he pandemic, Deal said. 

Deal also said Boeing is preparing to start speeding 787 Dreamliner production once the Federal Aviation Administration approves it to resume deliveries of the widebody aircraft. With that milestone looming, Boeing is pushing suppliers to step up hiring, he said.

In other highlights from Boeing’s briefing:

  • While a team of engineers is working on Boeing’s next new airplane, the company isn’t moving urgently to counter Airbus’s sales success with the A321neo. “I’m not in a rush to do another new airplane,” Deal said. “I will do another new airplane in its time.”
  • Boeing is working with the FAA to certify the 737 Max 10, and is prepared to work with Congress to extend a deadline that would allow the company to bring the jet to market without a costly cockpit redesign. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun recently warned Boeing might scrap the Max 10 program if it’s forced to add the new crew-alerting technology. “To me, that’s not a high probability path. The high probability path and the commitment we’ve made to our customers is to get this airplane certified,” Deal said Sunday.

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