* Boeing's ( BA ) goal remains 63 MAX jets per month

* Rival Airbus aiming to make 75 A320neo jets per month

By Dan Catchpole

SEATTLE, June 5 (Reuters) - As Boeing increases

production of its best-selling 737 MAX from 42 to 47 jets a

month, the U.S. planemaker is looking at how it can climb to 70

a month, its highest ever, CEO Kelly Ortberg told CNBC on

Friday.

"We'll look at that to understand where our constraints are,

what the resilience is of the supply chain, but that's a study

activity right now," Ortberg said.

The planemaker's stated goal is to raise production to 63

jets a month.

The Air Current trade journal reported on Thursday that

Boeing ( BA ) is drafting plans and assessing whether its suppliers

could support raising production of the single-aisle jet to 70

per month.

Turning out more 737 MAX jets is critical to Boeing's ( BA )

financial recovery after losing more than $30 billion in recent

years and taking on historically high levels of debt.

Boeing ( BA ) has methodically increased output since it restarted 737

production in December 2024. The U.S. Federal Aviation

Administration capped production at 38 jets per month after a

panel blew out of a nearly new 737 MAX, revealing widespread

production quality and safety problems. The cap was lifted in

October 2025.

"We've made sure that we're not moving (the rate up) until

the production system is stable," Ortberg said.

After consulting the FAA, the company said in May it is aiming

to raise production to ​47 per month in mid-summer.

Boeing ( BA ) plans to load the first plane on its new 737 production

line in Everett, Washington, on July 6, Ortberg told CNBC.

The line is critical to the company's plans to take 737

production to the next stage of 52 jets a month, he said.

The supply chain will have to increase capacity to support

Boeing's ( BA ) increased production, Ortberg said on a first-quarter

earnings conference call in April.

European rival Airbus has long aimed for ​monthly

output of 75 A320neo-family jets, but repeatedly ⁠delayed the

target due to supply-chain constraints. It expects to reach 70

to 75 jets per month by the end of 2027, with plans ⁠to

​stabilize production at 75 thereafter.