Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Pontifications: One step forward, two steps back: Déjà vu all over again.
Aug. 29, 2023, © Leeham News: It’s déjà vu all over again.
By Scott Hamilton
Last March, I wrote a piece entitled One Step Forward, Two Steps Back discussing Boeing’s efforts to climb out of the very deep hole dug by the 737 MAX grounding, suspension of 787 deliveries and the pandemic.
I noted that for every step forward, something seems to happen to set it back two steps. (A Boeing official suggested the piece should have been two steps forward, one step back, but the underlying point is made.)
The backward steps seem out of Boeing’s control. But it’s Boeing’s name on the side of the airplane and its Boeing that delivers airplanes to the customers. It’s Boeing with whom customers are frustrated.
The latest step backwards that delays deliveries again of the 737 MAX comes from Spirit AeroSystems. Misdrilled holes for the aft pressure bulkhead are blamed this time. The full extent of the flaw, with impacts, number of planes affected, etc., is still being assessed at this writing. Spirit says a supplier is responsible for this issue.
This follows a previous setback when Spirit found that one of its suppliers provided parts that failed to meet specifications which attached the vertical tail to the fuselage of the 737.
These flaws, revealed within months of each other, negatively impact the delivery of new production 737s and delivery of some of the more than 200 MAXes that remain in inventory due to the 2019 21-month grounding of the MAX.
Before that, Spirit’s quality control on the 787 nose section it builds for Boeing was found to have flaws. Deliveries were suspended for nearly 20 months. Eventually, Boeing had 110 newly built 787s in inventory that require rework. The inventory won’t be cleared until the end of next year.
The back story to a Chinese lessor sale of 737 MAX orders
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By Scott Hamilton
Aug. 28, 2023, © Leeham News: The order in February by Air India for 190 737 MAXes involves a backstory involving China that until now hasn’t been told. A subsequent sale by a Chinese lessor of all 737 MAX orders to a Middle Eastern lessor further reduces Boeing’s exposure to China.
The Air India was finalized at the June Paris Air Show. When Boeing announced its second quarter financial results the following month, the MAX inventory accumulated during the 21 month grounding of the type was reduced by 55 aircraft. These 55 MAXes were part of the inventory of 140 737s that were built for Chinese airlines and lessors.
Subsequently, the Chinese lessor CALC announced a deal to sell its entire MAX backlog of 54 to the Emirates lessor, DAE. Purchase rights to some 50 more MAXes were also transferred to DAE. This transaction left CALC with no 737s on its order books.
In its 2022 annual report, the most recent CALC financial statements available, the lessor wrote, “As at 31 December 2022, CALC had 226 aircraft on its orderbook, including 131 Airbus, 66 Boeing and 29 COMAC aircraft.”
Pontifications: A little math for 777X, 737 MAX
By Scott Hamilton
Aug. 22, 2023, © Leeham News: We have a follow up to our Aug. 9 post about Boeing revealing the sub-type orders for the first time for the 737 MAX and 777X.
Boeing every month updates its website data for gross orders, cancellations and orders classified under an accounting rule called ASC 606. ASC 606 means orders are “iffy” for contractual or financial reasons with the customer.
The difference between gross orders and net orders represents cancellations, for whatever reason. The airline or lessor may have decided to cancel outright. Some orders might have been swapped within the family (for example, from a 737-8 to a 737-10). Some orders may have been swapped (cancelled) between models—for example, from the MAX to the 787. Boeing’s cumulative statistics haven’t revealed the difference between gross and net orders—until now.
ASC 606-classified order adjustments are excluded from the gross/net tally, Boeing tells me. In other words, for purposes of the tallies, the ASC 606 orders remain included in the gross numbers. They’re still orders at this stage, even if iffy. Airbus, operating under European accounting rules, doesn’t have to identify its iffy orders; LNA has made its best estimate for years of Airbus “iffy” orders, however, in an effort to level the publicly reported playing field. There are times when discussing orders and backlogs that we ignore Boeing’s ASC 606 classification when comparing with the Airbus orders.
With this as background, let’s get to the follow up to the Aug. 9 post.
United selects GEnx for order for 100 787s
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By Scott Hamilton
Aug. 14, 2023, © Leeham News: United Airlines quietly selected GE engines for its order in December last year for 100 Boeing 787-9s, according to Boeing’s website. The order isn’t finalized and neither GE nor United would comment.
There had been speculation that UAL might order Rolls-Royce engines as a mitigation for cancelling 45 Airbus A350-900s, which is powered exclusively by RR. United repeatedly deferred delivery of the A350s, which were ordered by previous managements. United inherited a large order for 787s when it merged with Continental Airlines and placed repeat orders for the 787 after the merger. The A350s essentially are duplicative to the 787s.
United placed large orders for the Airbus A321neo at a time when Boeing at first dithered whether to launch the New Midmarket Aircraft. UAL added to the neo order during the time when Boeing was unable to pursue any new airplane program due to the extended grounding of the MAX and during the COVID pandemic.
Bjorn’s Corner: New aircraft technologies. Part 25. Efficient development
August 11, 2023, ©. Leeham News: We have described a number of technological advances that can be used to make the next-generation airliners more efficient and, thus, more environmentally friendly.
Part of developing more efficient next-generation aircraft is to change the development process to be more efficient. The last Boeing aircraft, the 787, took 7.5 years from launch to entry into service, and Airbus A350 took 8.5 years.
The target is to reduce this by up to 50%, but how?
Figure 1. The Airbus A350 development schedule. Source: Airbus.
Boeing reveals sub-type orders for MAX, 777X for the first time
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By Scott Hamilton
Aug. 9, 2023, © Leeham News: Boeing yesterday revealed the orders for sub-types for the 737 MAX and 777X, the first time it has done so publicly.
The Seattle Times first reported the MAX detail.
The MAX data is largely similar to LNA’s estimates over the years, in which we analyzed the backlog, including Unidentified customers, to percentages. When the MAX 10 was program was launched, customers who ordered the MAX 8 or MAX 9 switched some of these to the MAX 10. Others have done so since then.
MAX orders remain concentrated around the MAX 8 and the high-capacity MAX 8 200, also known as the MAX 8200. Seventy-one percent of the MAX orders in backlog are for these two aircraft types. In contrast, 62% of the Airbus A320neo family backlog is for the largest model, the A321neo. Boeing’s direct competitor to the A321neo, the MAX 10, represents 19% of the MAX backlog.
The MAX 7 and MAX 10 have yet to be certified. Only the A321XLR remains to be certified of all the A320neo family variants.
Pontifications: Freighter outlook for the next 20 years
By Scott Hamilton
Aug. 8, 2023, © Leeham News: The cargo conversion market faces the prospect of oversupply of certain types, the consulting firm IBA said last week in a webcast.
The aftermarket conversion of Boeing 737-800s is already at 60 this year, according to IBA’s estimate.
Figure 1.
The forecast doesn’t extend beyond this year—and therefore is incomplete. IBA notes that the Airbus A321 P2F supply is a fraction of the 737-800 conversions, which are undertaken mainly by Boeing and aeronautical Engineers Inc (AEI). There are more than 100 A320 family conversions orders (all but a handful for the A321) that will be coming on line in future years.
Figure 2.
Likewise, IBA’s forecast for widebody conversions doesn’t extend beyond this year. There are also more than 100 orders for Airbus A330ceo conversions (all but a handful for the A330-300). Figure 2, like Figure 1, paints an incomplete picture.
Pontifications: The see-saw remarketing of China’s 737 MAXes; Air India gets 55
Aug. 1, 2023, © Leeham News: Air India is taking 55 Boeing 737 MAXes originally built for Chinese airlines and lessors, LNA has learned. These are part of the order announced in February for up to 150 MAXes. The order was finalized during the June Paris Air Show.
Two of 140 Boeing 737 MAXes built for Chinese airlines in storage at Moses Lake (WA). Boeing sold 55 of these Chinese airplanes to Air India, resulting in the dramatic drop disclosed during the second quarter earnings call. Credit: Leeham News.
This deal accounts for the sharp reduction in inventoried MAXes reported last week during the Boeing 2Q2023 earnings call. It also represents another development in the see-saw saga of whether to remarket the 140 MAXes built for China.
First, Boeing was going to remarket around 140 737 MAXes ordered by Chinese airlines and lessors but which remained in inventory due to Beijing’s refusal to authorize delivery.
Then, a mere three months later, Boeing CEO David Calhoun—who announced the remarketing effort in the first place—said Boeing would pause remarketing the aircraft.
UPDATED: Boeing posts quarterly loss; increases Commercial production rates
By Bryan Corliss
July 26, 2023, (c) Leeham News — The Boeing Co. on Wednesday reported a quarterly loss of $99 million, due in part to spending tied to production rate increases in its Commercial Airplanes division.
Boeing said that rates on its 737 line in Renton are increasing to 38 a month. The 787 program has increased rates to four a month, with a plan to increase that to five a month by the end of this year.
Boeing is working with suppliers to get rates up to 50 a month on the 737 line sometime in 2025-26. CEO Dave Calhoun said during Wednesday earning call that demand is there for even higher rates.
“I’d love to get to 60 and the market is there for it,” he said. “The industry is short of airplanes by a relatively large margin.”
However, Boeing and its suppliers need to stabilize production at currently projected rates before considering going beyond what’s already been announced, the CEO said. “We’re going to work hard on stability.”
For this year, Boeing said it expects to deliver between 400 and 450 737s, along with 70 to 80 787s.
- Deliveries up at BCA
- China: Boeing hopes for delivery restart
- 777-X production to restart in 2023
- Calhoun ‘intent on proving’ trans-sonic truss
- BDS continues to struggle
BDS: Another problem for Boeing
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By the Leeham News Team
July 24, 2023, © Leeham News: The Boeing Co’s 2Q2023 earnings call is Wednesday and the company continues to push uphill in its path for full financial recovery.
Last week, we examined Boeing’s challenges this Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA). This week we look at Boeing’s Defense unit, Boeing Defense, Space and Security (BDS). BDS is often overshadowed by BCA’s issues. But BDS has a recent track record of negative margins and negative cash flows.
Fixed priced contracts Boeing won proved to be underbid. BDS has taken a stream of big write-offs that don’t seem to have an end in sight.
This is an excerpt from the 2018 Boeing Company (BA) financial statements (edited for brevity):