The company has not disclosed the customer or customers responsible for the 787 orders, but the deals include two 787-8s and 15 787-9s. The widebody program has experienced recent success, with Eva Air and Lufthansa placing orders in March and United Airlines signing a deal for 90 jets in December last year.
In addition to the widebody orders, Boeing secured orders for a single 777 Freighter and 16 737 MAX aircraft in April, bringing the total new orders for the month to 34, down from 60 in March. Singapore-based BOC Aviation and Luxembourg's Luxair ordered three and two 737 MAX planes, respectively, while the remaining orders were from unidentified customers.
However, last month also saw the cancellation of 21 orders for 737 MAX aircraft, with 18 cancellations by unnamed customers and three by Dominican Republic start-up airline Arajet. Boeing stated that the Arajet cancellations were for the same three aircraft that BOC ordered last month, which the carrier will now lease.
Boeing delivered 26 jets in April, down from 64 in March, due to halting the delivery of some 737 MAX 8s, MAX 8-200s, and 737NG-based P-8 military surveillance jets over aft-fuselage clip issues. Deliveries of 737 MAX 9s continue. The April deliveries included 18 737s, one 767, one 777, and six 787s.
Moreover, Boeing added 25 aircraft to its backlog net orders in April, which were previously categorized under an accounting section for deals suspected not to close. The company ended April with a backlog of 4,567 aircraft, up from 4,555 the previous month, including 3,587 737s, 119 767s, 328 777s, and 533 787s.
