By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Boeing jetliner deliveries rose in August to 35 airplanes as the U.S. planemaker resumed handovers of its 787 Dreamliner after a 15-month delay.
Boeing said monthly deliveries included 27 737 MAX jets, two 787s and five freighters. That raised the total MAX deliveries this year to 240 jets and overall deliveries to 277 through August.
Boeing deliveries in July had fallen to a five-month low of 26 airplanes, highlighting pressure on global supply chains.
Boeing also on Tuesday reported 30 new gross orders for airplanes, including 13 737 MAX planes and reported 26 net new orders as four 737 MAXs were debooked including two for Chinese-based Okay Airways.
Boeing in August delivered its first 787s since May 2021 — a 787-9 Lufthansa and a 787-10 to KLM, part of Air France-KLM. But two 787s for American Airlines that were “contractually delivered” in August were not yet booked as delivered because Boeing is performing some pre-scheduled post-delivery customization.
Boeing’s gross orders net of cancellations rose to 338 for the year.
In July, the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) approved Boeing’s inspection and retrofit plan needed to meet certification standards. In September 2020, the FAA said it was investigating manufacturing flaws in some 787 jetliners.
Boeing has about 120 787s awaiting delivery. The FAA said it “will inspect each aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery.” Typically, the FAA delegates airplane ticketing authority to the manufacturer, but in some instances, like the 737 MAX, it has retained responsibility for approving each new airplane.
American Airlines has around 40 additional 787s on order. Two of the new 737 MAX orders in August were for American, Boeing said.
In January, Boeing disclosed a $3.5 billion charge due to 787 delivery delays and customer concessions, and another $1 billion in abnormal production costs stemming from production flaws and related repairs and inspections.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
