Boeing can breathe out. On 1 October, members of SPEEA, the union that represents the company's engineers and technical workers, voted to accept new four-year contracts, ending the threat of a strike that could have begun the following week.

It was not a landslide. The professional unit approved its contract with 67.62% of the vote. The technical unit passed its deal with just 53.48%. But a yes is a yes, and for Boeing it means the engineers who are certifying the 777-9 and the 737 MAX 10 will keep working.

Two years after a machinists' strike shut down its factories for seven weeks, Boeing could not afford another walkout, and its chief executive had said as much.

A second offer, and a narrow yes

SPEEA members rejected Boeing's first tentative agreement in August and authorised a strike. The company came back with a richer offer, which according to the Lynnwood Times works out to an average pay increase of about 32% over the four years, alongside a higher incentive plan, a bigger 401(k) contribution for younger workers and caps on mandatory overtime.

According to Leeham News and the Lynnwood Times, average base salaries in the professional unit rise from about $152,000 to about $208,000 over the contract, and in the technical unit from about $119,000 to about $163,000.

That is not hyperbole. Engineers write and sign off the paperwork that regulators need to certify a new aircraft. Without them, test flights continue to generate data that nobody is allowed to approve.

Why the timing mattered

The 777-9 is years late, and the 737 MAX 10 certification has been held up by a software fix the FAA is waiting on. Both programmes are close enough to the finish line that a strike lasting weeks could have pushed deliveries into another year, with 777-9 customers such as Emirates and Lufthansa waiting.

Boeing is also trying to raise 737 MAX production after the 2024 IAM machinists' strike and the regulatory restrictions that followed the January 2024 door-plug blowout. A strike by the people who design, support and troubleshoot those aircraft would have hit that ramp too.

Peace, but not trust

The union's own message to members was notably cautious. Its negotiating team said members had won things some thought were out of reach, but warned that the relationship with management still needed repairing.

This was the first full contract negotiation between Boeing and SPEEA in 14 years. The narrow technical-unit margin suggests plenty of members are unconvinced. For now, though, the engineers are staying at their desks, and Boeing's two most important certification programmes are still moving.

Sources: SPEEA, Leeham News, Lynnwood Times, Bloomberg, Aviation Week, aeroTELEGRAPH