Boeing made progress last month in ramping up 737 Max deliveries, and landed fresh orders for more than 30 of the narrowbody jets.
The company disclosed its January order and delivery figures on 11 February, saying an unidentified customer or customers ordered the 34 737s, plus two 777 Freighters, bringing to 36 the number of new orders received last month.
January was the first month of full production since a strike late last year forced Boeing’s assembly system to grind to a halt.
Boeing last month delivered 45 aircraft, the most in any month since December 2023. Those included deliveries of 40 737 Max, to customers including Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and lessors Air Lease and Jackson Square.
In addition, it shipped seven 737 Max to Chinese airlines in January – notable because the company has for several years been working to divest a stockpile of the jets that it accumulated during a multi-year delivery pause to Chinese carriers.
That halt was caused by the 737 Max’s grounding but continued amid geopolitical tension long after the restriction was lifted.
Boeing also in January delivered one 777 Freighter to Ethiopian Airlines, and four 787s – one each to United, Korean Air, All Nippon Airways and TAAG Angola Airlines.
Separately, Boeing says it recently shifted orders for 38 777X from its backlog into a special accounting bucket called ASC 606, which it reserves for orders it suspects might not actually close due to factors that can include the financial condition of buyers, geopolitical issues and aircraft-development delays.
Boeing ended January with 5,554 aircraft in its backlog: 4,296 737s, 109 767s, 427 777s and 722 787s.
