Amidst several problems it still faces, Boeing can at least celebrate the milestone of 105 737 MAX jets delivered in the first half of 2021.
The figures surpass the performance of the first half of 2018, when 88 aircraft were delivered, before the model suffered its first fatal accident.
The fact that Boeing has had around 450 737 MAX produced ready for delivery since the end of 2020 also contributed. However, the US company had to deal with a new issue in the spinning mill that caused deliveries to be suspended for a few weeks.
In 2020, the airframer estimated that it should reach the end of this year with 225 737 MAX shipped to customers, so the goal seems feasible so far.
Best result in 2018
In June, Boeing delivered 33 aircraft of the type, the best result of the year. The 737 MAX accounted for 67% of the volume of commercial jet deliveries in the first half.
The 737 MAX debuted in service in May 2017 with Malindo Air, part of the group that coincidentally suffered the first fatal accident with the jetliner, in October 2018. In that year, 74 aircraft were delivered and the following year, 256 units , the highest performance to date.
In 2019, with the grounding established by civil aviation authorities around the world, the 737 MAX had only 57 deliveries. Last year there were 27 jets thanks to approval for their return to operation as of December.
