Boeing announced Tuesday that it delivered a total of 45 aircraft last month, according to a Reuters report. The manufacturer had a shaky month of April with sweeping tariffs from both the U.S. and China and a Chinese ban on Boeing deliveries. Despite this, they were able to nearly double their number of deliveries during the same month last year, which saw just 24 jets.
The 45 aircraft delivered in April is an increase of four compared to March, and is the fourth consecutive month that Boeing has delivered more than 40 aircraft.
Among the 45 delivered, 29 of them were the 737 MAX, in addition to eight 787s, four 777 freighters, and three 767s. Boeing is now up to 175 deliveries so far this year.
In terms of orders, the manufacturer booked eight gross orders, all of which were for the 737 MAX.
The Turbulent April
April was a bumpy month for Boeing. The escalating trade war between the U.S. and China seeped into their deliveries, with China introducing a ban on its airlines from taking in deliveries from the manufacturer.
Several Boeing 737 MAX aircraft returned to the U.S. from Zhoushan after this, creating an interesting visual aspect regarding the trade dispute between the two global powers. Boeing considered giving these delivery slots to other airlines, as Air India and Malaysia Airlines were among those to show interest.
This ban was ultimately lifted this morning, giving the manufacturer a breath of fresh air, at least for the moment.
A total of 50 Boeing aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to China this year, and having those disrupted would’ve been a rough go for them.
Boeing is aiming for 38 deliveries a month for its 737 MAX aircraft, which is the current cap set by the FAA. CEO Kelly Ortberg expressed a desire last month to increase that number to 52 a month.
With all of that said, uncertainty regarding tariffs still remains. We could very well see future delivery disruptions should the tariff war not be resolved during this 3 month trade deal. I expect that we’ll continue to see Boeing in the middle of political activity between the U.S. and China.
Featured image by Marco Menezes, Shutterstock.
