Sales of 31 new commercial jets helped Boeing’s backlog to tick higher in July, despite continued airline cancellations.
The new commitments were partly offset by the axeing of 17 orders, leading to a net 14-unit increase.
July’s figures mark a sixth straight month of positive order activity for Boeing, which has been recovering from the pressures of the pandemic, the 737 Max grounding, and ongoing 787 quality problems.
The 31 orders Boeing landed in July include 19 737 Max – nine jets for Gol, six for Southwest Airlines and four for unidentified customers, one of those being a Boeing Business Jet.
A dozen widebody orders were also received, including one 777F for FedEx and 11 aircraft for unidentified customers: one 767F, five 787s and five 777Fs.
Despite the positive momentum, cancellations continued. Of the 17 recorded in July, 15 were for the 737 Max – lessors AerCap and GECAS respectively axed three and one aircraft, while unidentified customers accounted for another 11 – while CIT Leasing and an unidentified customer axed a single 787-9 apeice.
Boeing shipped 28 aircraft in July – 23 737s and five widebody jets – down on the 45 it handed over in June.
July’s narrowbody deliveries included one 737NG-based P-8 maritime patrol aircraft for the US Navy and 22 737 Max jets: three to finance company 777 Partners, one to Aeromexico, three to lessor Air Lease, one to lessor CDB Aviation, one to Fiji Airways, two to Flydubai, two to ICBC Leasing and nine to Irish budget airline Ryanair.
The five widebodies shipped in July included one 747-8F to UPS, three 767Fs to FedEx and one 767-based KC-46 tanker to the US Air Force.
Boeing delivered no 787s in July. That programme has been under a delivery pause since May to address quality issues affected undelivered jets.
The July activity brought Boeing’s backlog to 4,141 aircraft, including 3,314 737s, 10 747s, 104 767s, 292 777s and 421 787s.
