Boeing Commercial Airplanes has delivered 503 commercial aircraft through August of 2015, it announced last week, 64 of those jets having been delivered in the month recently ended. The results show the continuing market preference of the OEM’s new long-range jets, the 777 and 787, as well as the single-aisle medium-range 737s, but the continuing decline in demand for the perennial 747 and 767 jumbo jets.
While 787 Dreamliner and 777 series have gained popularity, in part because the twin-engine design is seen as more fuel-efficient for long-range service, the four-engine 747 and 767 have draw only a handful of new orders. More than that, four 747 orders have been cancelled as of the latest report.
In August Boeing delivered 14 of its 787 Dreamliners, bringing total deliveries for that series to 90 jets this year. That figure is just 30 short of Boeing’s predicted total figure for all of 2015.
Nine 777s were delivered in August, as well as two 747s and one 767.
The number of 737s delivered during August was 38, fewer than Boeing’s current build-rate of 42 per month, a disparity that analysts have said may reflect the falling total of orders for the current version of the 737, and the increasing number of orders for the new 737 MAX version that is not scheduled to debut until 2017, and full production will not be reached until 2018.
According to its records, Boeing is still counting 2,899 orders of current model 737 and 2,869 orders for the 737 MAX. “We are on track to complete the bridge from the Next Generation 737 to the 737 MAX well ahead of the schedule required to ensure a smooth transition between the two airplanes toward the end of the decade,” according to Boeing
There will be a transition in model production for the 777 series too, from the current model to the 777X, a switch expected in 2018. It is now producing about 100 of the current 777 annually, and has delivered 66 of those jets this year.
As for new orders, Boeing latest update included firm orders for 70 new jets, all of them for the 737. Included among these are an order for 30 from a China’s Ruili Air, a discount carrier; 27 from Jet2.com Ltd., a British airline formerly known as Channel Express (Air Service Ltd.); nine from the U.S. Navy and four from the Australian defense ministry, jets that will be converted to P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
