In June, Boeing delivered 60 passenger jets as it rebounded from production problems, boosting its total for the first half to 266 airplanes and marking a 23% improvement from the first six months of last year.
Despite several production flaws, the U.S. planemaker appears on track to deliver at least 400 narrowbody 737 s and 70 widebody 787 Dreamliners in 2023, having delivereds and 31 Dreamliners over the first six months of the year.
In June, Boeing delivered 48 of its bestselling 737 MAXs, an improvement from May when the company delivered 35 MAXs.
It also delivered four 767 s - including the first KC - 46 military tanker that has been reworked since a fuel tank problem was discovered in March - and six 787 Dreamliners, one 777 freighter and one 737 that will be turned into a P - 8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft for South Korea.
The company's delivery totals for June are among the best since March, when the airline gave out 64 jets to customers before detecting a 737 bracket installation error in April that curbed delivery over the second quarter.
The airline lags behind European rival Airbus, which delivered 316 aircraft over the first six months of the year, including 72 jets in June. In 2023, Airbus expects to deliver 720 planes.
In June, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said the company plans to ramp up MAX production from its current rate of 31 jets per month to 38 very soon, but will probably encounter supply chain instability with every rate increase.
Last month, Boeing won net sales for 288 planes due to cancelations and conversions, dominated by a monster order from Air India for 190 MAXs, 20 Dreamliners and 10 mini-jumbo 777 X jets. The planemaker has also rented a previously announced order for 39 Dreamliners from the new Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air.
In the first half of 2023, Boeing booked plans for 415 planes, compared to 1,044 net orders for Airbus, which sharply increased its order tally due to a 500 jet order from Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo.