by Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Boeing delivered 35 planes in August, its lowest number since April, as the U.S. planemaker attempts to correct a manufacturing defect on its best-selling aircraft, the 737 MAX. The company handed over 344 aircraft to customers in the first eight months of 2023, a jump from the pandemic-affected same period last year. In comparison, its European rival Airbus delivered 433 planes during the first eight months, including 52 in August. Last month’s deliveries included just 22 737 MAX narrow-body planes, including a Boeing Business Jet.
Brian West, Boeing’s chief financial officer, said Thursday that the company would be at the “low end of the range” of its target of 400 to 450 737 deliveries this year, due to the prolonged process to inspect and repair the thousands of poorly drilled holes on the rear pressure bulkhead of the 737 MAX 8.
The company recorded new orders for 43 aircraft after taking into account two cancellations. The month’s total includes an unannounced sale of 25 737 MAX 8 aircraft to aircraft lessor SMBC Aviation Capital.
In comparison, Airbus sold 117 planes in August. In addition to the MAX, Boeing delivered 13 wide-body aircraft, including five 787 Dreamliners, three 767s, three KC-46 tankers for the United States Air Force, two freighters for FedEx, as well as three 777 freighters. Investors closely monitor delivery figures because aircraft manufacturers receive most of the payment when the plane is transferred to the customer.
Boeing’s gross orders since the beginning of January reached 624 in August, or 510 net orders after accounting for cancellations, conversions, and net 737 orders after accounting adjustments. Airbus recorded 1,257 gross orders, or 1,218 after cancellation.
(Reporting Valerie Insinna; French version Nathan Vifflin, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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