Boeing Wins First 737 Max Deal of Year in Sale to Polish Carrier

(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. broke its order drought for the grounded 737 Max, booking its first new sale of the model this year in a two-jet deal with Poland’s largest charter carrier.

Enter Air also added an option to take two additional 737-8 planes, which if exercised would bring its Max fleet to 10 aircraft, Boeing said in a statement Wednesday. The charter company, which began operations with a single 737 jet a decade ago, now has a fleet of 24 of the Boeing single-aisle planes, including two Max.

The latest order is a rare win for Boeing as the company confronts collapsing demand for new jetliners in a market glutted with aircraft because of the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines and lessors are also still waiting for global regulators to end a flying ban on the Max that was imposed in March 2019 after two deadly accidents.

Enter Air has finalized a settlement for the “commercial impacts” it suffered from the Max’s grounding, according to the statement. The compensation will be provided in a “number of forms and staggered over a period of time,” Boeing said.

Max sales have slowed since the tragedies, which killed a total of 346 people. Prior to the Enter deal, Boeing had recorded just 37 new orders for the jet during the grounding. Federal officials are expected to certify the Max to resume flight in the fourth quarter if no new issues emerge.

As of the end of July, Boeing’s net sales for the year had shrunk by 366 orders. The tally expanded to negative 836 when taking into effect an accounting rule that includes orders that might not materialize due to financial or contractual considerations.

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