The spring of 2024 was a brutal one for the Boeing (BA) company. As the S&P 500 gained rapidly with tech taking it to new heights, Boeing was thrusted into an onslaught of lawsuits, order delays and leadership confidence decay the likes of which the company has never seen before. Long and regarded read, trust me I know. I had 4 aneurisms and 2 hospital visits writing this but I’m back on the saddle and ready for an FAA inspection.
So sit tight, have some peanuts, and take one side of the headphones off to listen to the Captain (me) report on what’s cooking in Boeing. (not the engine this time)
Deliveries
First off, I want to preface this due diligence with I am in no way shape or form a financial advisor, a pilot, or an airline industry expert. I am a regarded individual who has recently taken interest in Boeing’s future and welcomes a variety of critique on this matter. Okay with that out of the way lets actually dive into it (no pun intended)
Difficulty in delivery for Spring
1. April – In the month of April, the company managed to secure orders for just 7 aircraft (none were Max planes which the company has been trying hard to sell to various airlines)
2. May – For the month of May, Boeing was trailing Airbus for just 1 order of 4 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft from Taiwan. This suggests Boeing failed to acquire a single order for its 737 Max aircraft once again.
Highlighting these key delivery periods suggested the growing amount of concern over Boeing’s engineering and management but coming out of the Farrmborough Intl Airshow in late July, investors of Boeing and its executives are beginning to feel little bit better about the state of the company.
Let’s take a look at which airlines are putting their faith back into Boeing by ordering more Jets!
This list will follow orders of Aircraft type (smallest to largest)
737 Max –
1. On July 15th it was reported an American firm, “Aviation Capital Group” confirmed a purchase of 16x 737 Max 8s and 19x 737 Max 10s. (The CEO would later claim this purchase was supporting a key pillar in its growth strategy.)
2. On July 23rd, Macquarie AirFinance placed its first Boeing order with the purchase of 20x 737 Max 8s to its backlog, with a slated delivery between 2029 and 2030.
3. Around the same time during the Farnborough, Luxair added 2x 737 Max 10s for a confirmed purchased while claiming optional order for two more.
4. Regarding slightly older news in early June, El AL opted for Boeing 737 Max over Airbus with an order of 30x 737 Max aircraft totaling $2 billion dollars. Deliveries are expected in 2027**.** These orders could come before as slots become available.
5. Air Canada in early July, added orders of 8x 737 Max 8s via BOC Aviation and will be delivered over the coming months.
787 Dreamliner and the 777
1. Japan Airlines confirmed a purchase for 10x 787-9s and options for another 10x 787s during this July of Farnborough. Deliveries are not set until 2028 but will go through till 2031.
2. Korean Air agreed to purchase up to 30x 787-10s with options for another 10x***.*** Korean Air also opted for an order of 20x 777X aircraft. According to chairman and CEO of Korean Air, the 777x could be the Korean’s flagship aircraft or it could be Airbus’s A350s. Time will tell on this one as its decided on which aircraft arrives at the airline first.
3. Quatar Airways added 20x more 777-9s to its backlog of 40.
4. Turkish Airlines, in early July, announced an order of 4x 777Fs to bolster its cargo fleet.
5. A week before Farnborough in early July, Emirates SkyCargo placed a firm order of 5x 777Fs. A delivery that would increase its main deck capacity of its cargo jets by 30 percent. The $1 billion deal will deliver between 2025 and 2026.
6. Last but not least. National Airlines placed its first direct purchase from Boeing with 4x 777Fs.
Production
This July we saw the first confirmed production of the GE9X engine, from GE Aerospace, headed for Boeing. With the engineering achievement of this engine, its good news for the 777x Program and GE as they’ve reportedly ran into issues testing this thing. In mid July, Boeing confirmed they had received type inspection authorization from the FAA for the 777X which has now paved the way for certification in flight testing with US regulators now on board.
I believe this is a crucial stepping stone for Boeing to get these 777s into commercial flight as we are so close to the finish line for these jets.
China
Positive news (finally) has come out regarding China and Boeing. Boeing has officially resumed widebody jet deliveries to China following some deliveries of 777 freighters. This was after a two-month hiatus forced by regulators reviewing the jets. Recently, Boeing 737 Max planes also resumed delivery to China as well.
Light at the End?
Well Boeing simply put isn’t just out of the woods yet with an ongoing FAA production camp causing numerous delivery delays with airlines customers. Importantly, the company finalized its guilty plea agreement with the DOJ for “failing to sufficiently design, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of US fraud law.”
As cool as it was to hear the Boeing CEO repeat that he just simply “gets paid to run the Boeing company,” as he was questioned. Plans are already set to replace the CEO and other operation changes that will further consumer confidence in the near-term and long-term effectiveness of Boeing.
Conclusion
Boeing has been on thin ice for a while and I believe the ice is thickening and will soon be on track in a green pasture heading to TendyVille. Defense contracting is on the rise, take a look at $LMT earnings, Boeing’s confidence is returning and so will its stock price.