Boeing
delivered 40 aircraft in August, a slight decrease over July but an increase over August 2023.
Keeping steady in the summer
American manufacturer Boeing has had a difficult 2024. The door plug blowout on the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 was one of the worst points of the year, but that incident triggered an avalanche. Now, the manufacturer is rebounding from a difficult start to the year as it has transitioned CEOs.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying
According to a report from Reuters, Boeing delivered 40 aircraft last month. While this is one of the manufacturer’s highest monthly outputs this year, this number is down from July. During the previous month, Boeing delivered 43 planes.
August was more successful in terms of Boeing 737 Max
deliveries. Last month, Boeing delivered 32 MAX aircraft, while in July, it delivered 31. This included nine deliveries to Chinese airlines, the most in nearly five years.
By the end of the year, Boeing hopes to produce 38 MAX aircraft monthly, a goal that was pushed back because of Boeing’s recent troubles. The manufacturer hoped to expand several months ago, but the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) increased its oversight of the company’s operations and capped its production rates. Now, Boeing is close to reaching its goal.
Important milestones in August
Additionally, Allegiant Air took delivery of its first 737 MAX 8-200. This is the first of the aircraft’s type in the United States and is also monumental as Allegiant is breaking from its all-Airbus model for the first time in years. Following months of delays, the airline has finally added the first of 50 aircraft that were ordered in January 2022.
Photo: Preston Fiedler | Simple Flying
Recently, a regulatory review from Chinese regulators forced Boeing to halt deliveries to Chinese customers. This meant that 787 Dreamliners and 737 MAX aircraft were not being delivered to China. At the end of June, deliveries resumed, and in August, numbers reached their peak in nearly half a decade.
Ever since the two fatal crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, deliveries to China have been off and on. The Chinese government was the last major government to clear the aircraft to return to its skies. The first delivery to China was in January of this year.
Potential chaos on the horizon
Despite signs of stability, a strike may be coming soon at Boeing. On Sunday, the manufacturer’s machinist union tentatively approved a new four-year contract. But if members are not satisfied, on Thursday they may vote to strike. In fact, a strike seems highly likely.
Jon Holden, union president, told The Seattle Times,
“The response from people is, it’s not good enough.”
On Thursday, union members will vote on the new contract, and if they do not approve it, a strike could start as early as Friday. Holden said the following to Union members,
“We have achieved everything we could in bargaining, short of a strike. We recommended acceptance because we can’t guarantee we can achieve more in a strike.”