Boeing's CEO said he's 'sort of glad' he was forced to halt expansion of 737 Max production

• The FAA won't let Boeing expand production of the 737 Max as it investigates the company.
• CEO Dave Calhoun said he's "sort of glad" because "that's a good excuse to just take our time."

Boeing's CEO said in its fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday he's "sort of glad" regulators paused expanding production of the 737 Max.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced the measure last Wednesday, as it cleared 737 Max 9 aircraft to return to service once inspected.

"However, let me be clear: This won't be back to business as usual for Boeing," said Mike Whitaker, the FAA administrator.

Calhoun said Boeing is producing 38 of its 737 jets a month, and it will stay at that rate "until the FAA and Boeing is satisfied with our quality and manufacturing process."

In the previous quarter's earnings report, Boeing said it aimed to produce 50 such airplanes a month by 2025.

The pause may prevent it from reaching that goal, but Calhoun didn't appear to be worried.

"I'm sort of glad they called out a pause because that's a good excuse to just take our time, do it right," he said. "And I wish I had called that out on the first day, but maybe I would have."

The Boeing chief also apologized to investors, saying the company had probably taken more pauses in the last three years since he took over than in the 10 years before.

Calhoun became CEO after Dennis Muilenberg was fired amid the fallout from the two 737 Max 8 crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019.

Now, Calhoun is dealing with a 737 Max crisis too — trying to regain trust and improve Boeing's quality-control processes after the Alaska Airlines blowout.

A 737 Max 9, delivered to the airline just 66 days earlier, lost a door plug in midair on January 5. The Wall Street Journal reported that the plane left the factory missing key bolts designed to keep the door plug attached.