(Reuters) – Boeing delivered 60 passenger jets in June as it rebounded from production issues, boosting its total for the first half to 266 airplanes and marking a 23% improvement from the first six months last year.
Despite several production flaws that dogged deliveries over the half, the U.S. planemaker appears on track to meet annual targets to deliver at least 400 narrowbody 737s and 70 widebody 787 Dreamliners in 2023, having delivered 216 737s and 31 Dreamliners over the first six months of the year.
Boeing delivered 48 of its bestselling 737 MAXs in June, an improvement from May when the company delivered 35 MAXs.
It also delivered four 767s – including the first KC-46 military tanker that has been reworked since a fuel tank problem was discovered in March – as well as six 787 Dreamliners, one 777 freighter and one 737 that will be turned into a P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft for South Korea.
Boeing’s delivery totals for June are its best since March, when the company handed over 64 jets to customers before discovering a 737 bracket installation error in April that curbed deliveries over the second quarter.
However, it lags behind European rival Airbus, which delivered 316 aircraft over the first six months of the year, including 72 jets in June. Airbus hopes to deliver 720 planes in 2023.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said in June that the company expects to ramp up MAX production from its current rate of 31 jets per month to 38 “very soon,” but will probably encounter supply chain instability with every rate increase.
Boeing won net orders for 288 planes last month when factoring in cancelations and conversions, dominated by a monster order from Air India for 190 MAXs, 20 Dreamliners and 10 mini-jumbo 777X jets. The planemaker also booked a previously announced order for 39 Dreamliners from new Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air.
Boeing booked orders for 415 planes through the first half of 2023 when factoring in cancellations, compared to 1,044 net orders for Airbus, which sharply increased its order tally due to a 500 jet order from Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo.
(Reporting by Valerie Insinna; Editing by Jamie Freed)
