Boeing deliveries up due to demand for more fuel-efficient aircraft AVIATION

Boeing’s first-half aircraft deliveries rose more than 7 per cent, lifted by demand for its bestselling 737 jetliners as airlines seek more fuel-efficient planes, and orders were more than double those of European rival Airbus.

The announcement on Tuesday caps a successful half-year for the world’s largest plane maker and comes a week ahead of the Farnborough Airshow in Britain, where airlines typically place orders.

Boeing, based in Chicago, had 460 net aircraft orders in the first half of 2018, compared with Airbus’s 206, rebounding after losing that race to Airbus last year.

Deliveries are financially important to plane makers because that is when airlines pay over most of the money, while orders give a better glimpse of manufacturers’ prospects.

Boeing said its in-house financing arm, Boeing Capital, acquired 75 single-aisle 737s for an unnamed buyer, indicating Boeing had to help arrange financing to close the deal.

Such deals do not typically stay on Boeing’s balance sheet but would be sold on to other lessors. Boeing declined to name the underlying customer involved.

Boeing has said it aims to ship between 810 and 815 commercial aircraft in 2018, as much as 6.8 per cent more than the industry record 763 jets it delivered in 2017, putting it ahead of Airbus for the sixth year in a row. Airbus forecasts delivering around 800 planes in general for 2018.

Airbus scored a key victory on Tuesday, with US airline JetBlue announcing it would buy 60 of its A220-300 narrowbody jets, the first major order for the plane maker’s newly rebranded programme as its battle with rival Boeing intensifies.

Boeing said first-half deliveries rose 7.4 per cent to 378 aircraft, led by higher demand for its single-aisle 737 jetliners. Deliveries have been fuelled by strong demand amid booming passenger travel.

Airbus delivered 303 aircraft in the first half, down about 1 per cent from a year earlier.

Boeing shares rose 1.5 per cent to $347.16.

The Farnborough Airshow, held every other year in alternation with Paris, kicks off on Monday outside London. Global plane makers could reap 900 orders and commitments from the show, down slightly from last year’s event, as strong oil prices prompt airlines to top up orders for fuel-efficient narrowbody models, aviation consultancy IBA Group said.

On average, summer jamborees account for 30 per cent of annual commercial business, IBA said.