The 69 deliveries in December exceeded the company's previous best monthly delivery performance of 51, which was reported in both June and September. December has also been the company's best delivery month overall since December 2018. This is an indication that the company may be overcoming the challenges it has faced with its two primary passenger jet programs for several years.
The company's best-selling new-generation single-aisle jet was banned from flying globally for 20 months, starting in March 2019, due to two fatal accidents that occurred in less than six months. The crisis was further compounded by production problems with the 787 Dreamliner, which halted deliveries of the wide-body jet for a significant part of the past two years.
In the fourth quarter of the year, Boeing made a total of 152 commercial aircraft deliveries. In total, the planemaker delivered 480 aircraft to its customers, marking a 41% increase compared to 2021.
Deliveries are essential for the company's financial performance, as they are also a significant indicator of the state of commercial aerospace production in the region, which is primarily influenced by Boeing.
The 737 MAX, which was allowed to return to service in late 2020, was the primary factor in Boeing's increase in deliveries at the end of the year, accounting for almost 80% of the company's deliveries in December.
Boeing reported that they had made 387 MAX deliveries in the year, which represents a 47% increase compared to the previous year. A large number of these deliveries are from the large stock of jets that the company built up during the grounding period.
As per the report from the Seattle Times, David Strauss, an analyst from Barclays, estimated last week that about 40% of MAX deliveries in 2022 were from the stored inventory.
Boeing also reported an increase in deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner at the end of the year. The company delivered 10 of these twin-aisle jets in December, bringing the total number of 787 deliveries in the fourth quarter to 22 and 31 for the year.
The deliveries of the Boeing 787 Family jets, which had a stock of around 100 aircraft, resumed during the summer of 2022 after the resolution of production issues.
Late last month, there were reports that supply delays by Spirit Aerosystems were causing new uncertainties in the Dreamliner deliveries, but Spirit stated that it had fulfilled its 2022 commitment to the program.
Boeing's 2022 deliveries also included 33 B767s, 24 B777s, and five B747s.
The company finished the year with 774 net orders, which represents a 62% increase compared to the previous year, resulting in a total backlog of 4,578 aircraft.
