(Reuters) – Boeing said on Tuesday it delivered 27 planes in January, a 29 percent drop from a year earlier, amid increased pressure on the U.S. manufacturer following the loss of a cabin panel of a 737 MAX 9 in full flight last month.
Deliveries of the 737 MAX fell to just 25 aircraft after two months of good performance. While deliveries tend to be slower in the first month of the year, Boeing delivered 38 planes, including 35 MAXs, in January 2023.
Boeing recorded three gross orders, the lowest since 2019. The group said customers, who were not identified, canceled orders for two 737 MAXs, while Air Europa canceled an order for a 787 Dreamliner.
Airbus, Boeing’s main competitor, delivered 30 jets in January and reported 31 new orders.
Boeing said it was carrying out additional quality checks on the 737 MAX following the January 5 accident in which a fuselage part detached from an Alaska Airlines MAX 9.
In addition to the 737 MAX deliveries, Boeing delivered a 787 Dreamliner and a wide-body 767, which will be transformed into a KC-46 tanker for the U.S. Air Force.
Boeing’s order book increased from 5,626 to 5,599 aircraft as of January 31. Without accounting adjustments, the total number of unfulfilled orders amounts to 6,189.
Dave Calhoun, the group’s chief executive, said on a Jan. 31 earnings conference call that Boeing would not set aircraft delivery targets for 2024.
(Report by Valerie Insinna, French version by Augustin Turpin, edited by Kate Entringer)
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