Boeing sold only three airliners in the past month

new York
CNN
—

Boeing said it sold only 14 new planes last month, most of them cargo planes. One of them was to replace the plane whose door blew off in mid-flight just over six months ago.

The company has sold only three 737 Max jets, two to an unidentified customer and one to Alaska Airlines to replace the plane whose door blew off on a Jan. 5 flight as it approached 16,000 feet. The other 11 planes were 777 freighters.

The company had one of its best sales months of the year, but it still ended the first half of 2024 with gross sales down 70% from a year earlier. The 14 gross sales are up from just four sales in May and seven sales in April. But they are down 95% from the 304 gross orders it booked in June 2023.

Boeing sales have plummeted in the wake of the Alaska Air incident, as even airlines eager to expand their fleets delay purchases while Boeing works through myriad problems.

The year had started with a record sales month in December, but sales were virtually halted following the Alaska Air incident.

The only month the airline had good sales was March, when it sold 113 planes. Most of those sales came from an order for 85 planes from American Airlines. But that order was for a longer version of the 737 Max, which the FAA hasn’t even certified for passenger use yet. That certification, originally scheduled for this year, has been pushed back to at least 2025 because of problems highlighted by the Alaska Air incident.

The company agreed Sunday to plead guilty to defrauding the FAA during the 737 Max certification process. It could face additional criminal charges related to the Alaska Air incident.

The plane sold to Alaska Air is also a 737 Max 10 meant to replace the plane that lost its door stopper in January. Boeing agreed to buy back that particular plane, which was able to land without serious injury to crew or passengers. Boeing has declined to reveal its plans for the plane now that it has taken it back.