In comparison to the prior month, 2023’s first month witnessed much less aircraft orders for the US aircraft manufacturer.
Last month, 55 aircraft were ordered from US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the majority of which were purchased by unnamed customers. Despite a blockbuster order being placed in the final month of 2022 being unquestionably an exception from an average month, the company’s performance in January 2023 markedly declined from a spectacular December.
In January 2023, who placed an aircraft order?
According to Boeing records, 55 aircraft were ordered by five separate customers in the preceding month. Below is a detailed breakdown:
Program for BDS USAF Tankers: 15 767-2C (also known as the KC-46A Pegasus)
4 737 MAX jets operated by Skymark Airlines
4 737 MAX aircraft from TUI Travel
25x 737 MAX, Unknown Client (1)
7x 737 MAX, Unknown Client (2)
As you can see, the bulk (58%) of aircraft are ordered by unnamed clients. Sometimes the identities of these clients are later made public, but they sometimes decide to remain anonymous until they are prepared to make a major disclosure.
The fact that 73% of all aircraft ordered are for the 737 MAX and no deals for commercial passenger widebodies were signed during the month is also interesting.
Finally, the USAF granted Boeing a contract to supply 15 KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft. The Pegasus is a modified and military version of the Boeing 767-200, replete with a cockpit resembling that of the 787 Dreamliner, in case you missed our recent piece on the type.
The USAF order posted in January may very well be the most expensive one (depending on the level of discounts offered to the customer of the 25 MAX aircraft). The USAF’s tanker deal is worth $2.3 billion, according to ADS Advance. 138 KC-46A Pegasus tankers will be ordered by Boeing around the world despite problems and delays facing the military version.
significant reduction from December
Boeing’s performance in January 2023 fell far short of its monthly average. The manufacturer of aircraft reported multiple orders totaling 250 airframes in December 2022. With 180 aircraft ordered from United Airlines, 2022’s fantastic conclusion was mainly made feasible.
According to Boeing, the US carrier has committed to purchasing 90 737 MAX and 90 787-9 aircraft. A definitive order for 100 Dreamliners and 56 737 MAX aircraft was announced by United on December 13th. These figures don’t exactly match that announcement. The carrier also made use of its option to buy 44 MAX aircraft.
The disparity in the numbers may be caused by the fact that lessors, rather than the airline, were responsible for a portion of the order. Boeing’s January performance wasn’t too bad considering there wasn’t a sizable order like the one we saw from United.
In fact, the corporation saw orders for aircraft more than double from November 2022 to January 2023. In that particular month, Boeing reported only receiving 21 orders for airplanes. Of course, reporting for February 2023 should experience yet another significant increase as Boeing would be happy to mention its recent agreement with Air India.
The 190 737 MAXs, 20 787-9 Dreamliners, and 10 777-9s will all be purchased by the national carrier of India.
