- Boeing secured its first order since the end of a seven-week strike.
- Avia Solutions Group, which leases planes to airlines, ordered 80 Boeing 737 Max jets.
- There’s still a difficult road ahead for the embattled planemaker to up production and improve quality.
Boeing has secured its first order since the end of a seven-week machinists’ strike.
Avia Solutions Group announced Tuesday that it ordered 80 Boeing 737 Max jets, evenly split between firm orders and purchase rights.
ASG describes itself as the world’s largest aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance provider. It wet leases planes to airlines — meaning it provides planes as well as crew and other services — typically during peak travel periods.
It has a fleet of 220 aircraft and carries around 35 million passengers a year for its clients. This is its first direct order from a planemaker.
The news is a boon for Boeing as it works to turn things around amid an especially testing year that has seen its stock fall 40%.
“ACMI providers such as Avia Solutions Group offer important, flexible capacity to meet the dynamic demand in our industry and we are honored Avia has selected Boeing airplanes to help meet that demand from its customers,” said Brad McMullen, Boeing senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing.
Last month, rival Airbus won an order from Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Air for 60 narrow-body jets. That came months after Bloomberg reported Boeing had been set to secure an order from the kingdom’s ambitious startup instead.
Even with the strike ending, there is a difficult road ahead for Boeing to work through its roughly $428 billion backlog of around 5,400 commercial aircraft.
Airbus has delivered more planes and received more orders this year, while Boeing has faced intense scrutiny since January’s Alaska Airlines blowout.
The incident saw a 737 Max lose a door plug mid-flight after the plane left Boeing’s factory missing key bolts.
The Federal Aviation Administration consequently limited Boeing’s output of 737 Max aircraft to 38 a month until it implements a safety-and-quality plan.
The planemaker has slowed below that as it overhauls its production processes, delivering around 30 per month in the last quarter.
Delivery of ASG’s Boeing jets is expected to start in 2030.
Boeing must balance improving both its quality and production output to restore trust with customers and regulators.
Credit rating agencies have warned that Boeing’s bonds could be downgraded to junk status. Ben Tsocanos, S&P Global Ratings’ aerospace director, said Boeing’s equity raise provides a “cushion,” but its rating still depends on its ability to increase both production and quality.
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