Boeing to Sell China-bound 737 MAX Jets to Others

Boeing’s CEO, David Calhoun, stated that the manufacturer will no longer wait for China to greenlight the 737 MAX.

DALLAS - Boeing’s CEO, David Calhoun, stated today, September 16, 2022, that the manufacturer will no longer wait for China to greenlight the 737 MAX that remains in storage and has been so ever since its initial grounding.

Over 400 Boeing 737 MAX jets were stored at the Boeing facility back in March 2019 and of these nearly 140 were supposed to have headed for various Chinese carriers and lessors.

At an aviation event in Washington, Calhoun further said, “We are not delivering airplanes to China. We certainly wish we could. We are remarketing a small portion of them. We continue to defer production of any Chinese airplanes. We don’t really carry any risk. Then, depending on what we read, we will just keep remarketing more.”

Calhoun also clarified that he isn't worried about the future of the MAX market. “I know we can move them, especially with the supply chain issues that both manufacturers are having.”

Image Airways / Daniel Gorun

Further Comments from Boeing Officials

On parallel lines, Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West confirmed at the Morgan Stanley conference that the plane manufacturing giant will begin to remarket some of the 737 MAX airplanes that were meant for Chinese customers. Although China is a massive market for Boeing, the wait is no longer acceptable. The jets need to fly, and Boeing will find customers that will fly them.

With this said, and given the rush for many global carriers to get back their market share, Boeing is quite optimistic that these MAX jets will find a new owner.

Take for example India's newest airline Akasa (QP) which was founded only in 2021 after the MAX grounding, took over an initial lot of these jets in no time just because many were available, while on the contrary, many carriers are biting their nails waiting for delayed deliveries.

For the month of August 2022, Boeing delivered 27 737 MAX jets, two 787 Dreamliners, and five freighters.

Featured image: Max Langley/Airways

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