WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - Major airline chiefs

plan to hold discussions with Boeing ( BA ) board chair Larry

Kellner in meetings that will not include CEO David Calhoun

after raising concerns over an Alaska Airlines mid-air emergency

and ongoing production issues, sources said.

A group of U.S. airline CEOs sought meetings with Boeing ( BA )

directors to raise express concern over the Alaska Airlines

737 MAX 9 accident, the Wall Street Journal reported

earlier, saying it was an unusual sign of frustration with the

manufacturer's problems and its leader Calhoun.

An airline source familiar with the meetings told Reuters

the carriers wanted to raise concerns directly with Kellner, who

previously served as the CEO of Continental Airlines, and

understands their frustration with ongoing delays and quality

issues.

In the U.S., the CEOs of American Airlines ( AAL ), United

Airlines, Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) and Alaska Airlines

plan to hold meetings with the Kellner, according to a separate

airline source.

The discussions, expected to include at least one other

Boeing ( BA ) director, will also include some large foreign airline

customers, the sources with knowledge of the matter said on

condition of anonymity. Boeing ( BA ) CEO Dave Calhoun supports the

meetings but will not attend, a company official said.

A Wall Street analyst said the decision to hold meetings

without Calhoun did not appear to be a good sign for the CEO's

longevity at the company. The analyst declined to be named due

to the sensitivity of the matter.

Boeing ( BA ) said it had been actively focused on listening to its

customers at all levels of its company.

American, United and Alaska Airlines declined to comment.

Southwest ( LUV ) did not respond to a request for comment.

Calhoun took over as CEO in 2020 after two fatal 737 MAX 8

crashes after a decade on Boeing's ( BA ) board. He has vowed to fix

quality problems and must ensure accident like the mid-air

Alaska Airlines panel blowout "can never happen again."

Michael O'Leary, CEO of Boeing's ( BA ) biggest European 737 MAX

customer Ryanair, told Reuters on Wednesday he was

meeting with senior company executives in Dublin to discuss

prolonged delivery delays.

The order backlogs and delays in getting planes are

frustrating airline executives, who have started to cut routes

and are trying to acquire additional aircraft to meet passenger

demand that is set to hit record levels this spring.

Federal Aviation Administration chief Michael Whitaker said

on Tuesday Boeing must improve safety culture and address

quality issues before the agency will allow the planemaker to

boost 737 MAX production.

The FAA in late January took the unprecedented step of

telling Boeing ( BA ) it would not allow the company to expand 737 MAX

production in the wake of the Alaska Airlines mid-air emergency.

The FAA will only permit an increase when Boeing ( BA ) is

running a quality system safely, Whitaker said, adding he has

the tools to hold Boeing ( BA ) accountable and fully intend to use

them.

Whitaker said Boeing ( BA ) is allowed to produce 38 of the 737

planes per month, but actual current production is lower than

that.

Boeing ( BA ) Chief Financial Officer Brian West said on Wednesday:

"We are the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the

737 program... and we'll feel the impact of that over the next

several months."

The Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into the

January mid-air MAX 9 cabin panel blowout. The National

Transportation Safety Board has said the plane that lost the

cabin panel was missing four key bolts.