US aircraft manufacturer Boeing received orders for 55 aircraft in January, most of which are purchased by unnamed customers. Thus, the company's performance has declined significantly compared to the stellar December, although is it even possible to compare with it? December results are not average for an American aircraft manufacturer.
So who ordered the planes in January 2023?
By According to Boeing, 55 aircraft were ordered by five different customers:
Leasing company BDS USAF Tanker Program — 15 Boeing 767-2C aircraft;
Skymark Airlines: 4 737 MAX aircraft;
TUI Travel: 4 737 MAX aircraft ;
Unidentified customer: 25 737 MAX;
Unidentified customer: 7 737 MAX.
Indeed, most of the orders came from customers who wish to remain anonymous. Another interesting point is that 737 MAX account for 73% of all aircraft orders, with no deals signed for commercial passenger wide-body aircraft during the month.
Finally, the United States Air Force (USAF) awarded Boeing a contract for 15 KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft. Pegasus — it is a modernized and militarized version of the Boeing 767–200, equipped with a cockpit reminiscent of the 787 Dreamliner. It is the order of the US Air Force that experts call the most profitable of those placed in January — most likely, Boeing gave good discounts to customers of 25 copies of the 737 MAX. The US Air Force contract for the supply of Pegasus is estimated at $ 2.3 billion. Despite the problems and even setbacks associated with this aircraft, Boeing entered into agreements to supply 138 KC-46A Pegasus tankers worldwide.
January 2023 results show a sharp drop compared to Boeing's figures a month earlier. In December 2022, the manufacturer received orders for 250 vehicles. True, 180 of them were ordered by United Airlines: 90 737 MAX aircraft and 90 — 787-9.
It is interesting that the airline itself gave other figures: 100 Dreamliners and 56 — 737 MAX.
Without United's big order, Boeing's performance in December is not much different from January. Indeed, the Boeing ordered twice as many aircraft compared to November 2022. At that time, Boeing announced that it had received orders for just 21 aircraft.
Note that there should be another big jump in the February 2023 financials, as Boeing agreed to a record deal with Air India. The Indian carrier will buy 190 737 MAXs, 20 787–9 Dreamliners and 10 777-9s.
