Boeing books best October since 1997 as deliveries slide

Boeing The Boeing Company ↗ 0.48% delivered 49 commercial jets in October, down from 57 in September and 53 a year earlier, the company said on Tuesday, November 10, according to Reuters. Orders went the other way. Boeing booked 165 net orders with no cancellations, its best October since 1997.rmb.reuters.com

The split shows where Boeing stands. Customers keep signing up for its planes, but the company is still struggling to build and hand over its 737 MAX fast enough. Bloomberg noted that demand is holding up even as high jet fuel prices hit its airline customers.bloomberg.com

MAX deliveries slump

Boeing delivered 32 737 MAX jets in October, down from 43 in September, Reuters reported. That is the lowest monthly total in almost a year. Last month, CEO Kelly Ortberg said Boeing would miss its target of about 500 737 deliveries this year. Wide-body jets made up part of the gap. Forecast International's tracking showed 17 wide-body deliveries, including 11 787 Dreamliners, four 767s and two 777s.flightplan.forecastinternational.com+1

Boeing still trails its European rival. Airbus delivered 74 aircraft in October, according to Aviation Week. Boeing delivered 475 commercial jets in the first nine months of the year, including 367 737s. It is still working toward a steady rate of 47 737s a month, which it aims to reach in early 2027, according to Reuters reporting cited by Stock Moguls.investors.boeing.com+2

Avolon order drives bookings

Of October's 165 orders, 150 were for 737 MAX jets. Dublin-based lessor Avolon ordered 140, Allegiant Air ordered six, and four went to unidentified customers, Reuters reported. The other 15 were 787s for undisclosed buyers.rmb.reuters.com

All of Avolon's jets are 737 MAX 10s, the largest version of the family. Bloomberg said the deal brings the MAX 10 backlog to nearly 1,700 aircraft. Avolon announced the order on October 9 as part of a 250-aircraft deal that also included 110 Airbus jets. Boeing and Avolon finalized the deal on Wednesday, November 4. Boeing called it the largest 737 MAX order ever placed by a lessor, and it takes Avolon's unfilled Boeing orders above 240. Boeing said lessors have placed firm orders for more than 230 MAX 10s in 2026, five times their MAX 10 backlog at the end of 2025.caa.gov.qa+2

Certification opens the door

The orders came weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration certified the 737 MAX 10 on October 20, ending a wait of almost a decade. Boeing expects deliveries of MAX 7 and MAX 10 jets built before certification to begin in early 2027. The company ended September with a record $612 billion commercial backlog covering more than 6,300 jets.heraldnet.com+1