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Boeing's 737 Order Book Shrank in April

Boeing's 737 Order Book Shrank in April

(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co.’s 737 sales tally for this year dropped by 171 aircraft in April as the company adjusted its order book to reflect the financial woes of Jet Airways India Ltd., a major customer of the U.S. planemaker’s Max models.

  • The manufacturer added four jetliner orders last month before conversions or cancellations, as Boeing worked to get the Max back in the air. The company’s best-selling jet was grounded in March following two deadly crashes in a five-month span.

Key Insights

  • Jet Airways, which is seeking $1.2 billion to fly again, had deals for 200 of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft. The carrier hadn’t taken delivery of any of the planes before the grounding began, and Boeing executives indicated last month that they would strike the orders from the backlog.
  • Boeing has changed its monthly reports to show the impact on its current-year sales tallies from an accounting rule requiring the company to remove orders that aren’t likely to materialize. Boeing has dropped 196 orders for the 737 from its order book so far this year while netting 25 sales of the single-aisle planes.
  • The Chicago-based company delivered a total of 23 jets in April, including nine earlier-generation 737 aircraft not affected by the grounding. Boeing also delivered 12 of its 787 Dreamliners in the month.

Market Reaction

  • Boeing rose 2.4% to $345.42 at 11:51 a.m. in New York, following a 4.9% drop Monday as U.S.-China trade tensions increased. The shares had gained 4.6% this year through Monday.

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  • Additional details
  • Airbus SE last week reported five wide-body orders for April. Sales totals the A320neo family, the European planemaker’s counterpart to the Max, have dropped by 22 jets due to airline bankruptcies.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Johnsson in Chicago at jjohnsson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Tony Robinson

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