WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - The head of the Federal

Aviation Administration said Boeing ( BA ) must improve safety

culture and address quality issues before he will allow the

planemaker to boost 737 MAX production.

The FAA in late January told Boeing ( BA ) it would not allow the

company to expand 737 MAX production in the wake of a mid-air

emergency on an Alaska Airlines jet.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told Reuters in an interview

on Tuesday the agency has not begun discussions with Boeing ( BA ) yet

about hiking 737 production, saying the agency will only permit

an increase when Boeing ( BA ) is "running a quality system safely."

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

per month but the actual current production "is lower than

that."