Boeing 737 Max: Luxury private jet version of grounded plane sold to mystery buyer

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Boeing 737 Max: Luxury private jet version of grounded plane sold to mystery buyer

By Julie Johnsson
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Boeing sold a business-jet version of its 737 Max in September, breaking a sales drought for a model that has been grounded since March.

The order by an anonymous customer was the first Max deal since June, when British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA announced its intent to buy 200 of the narrow-body jetliners. That blockbuster agreement hasn't yet been converted to a firm order, leaving net sales for the Max at negative 184 for the year.

The US planemaker also finalised a deal with Air New Zealand for eight of its 787 Dreamliners last month, bringing net orders for the carbon-composite aircraft to 52 this year, according to Boeing data released Tuesday. The wide-body plane has been a rare bright spot for the company amid trade wars stoked by US President Donald Trump and the crisis around the Max, which was grounded following two deadly crashes.

The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded since March over safety concerns.

The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded since March over safety concerns.

Boeing's European rival, Airbus, has also been grappling with a weak market this year, with a total of only 127 net orders. But that was good enough to top Boeing, which has recorded 84 more cancellations than sales.

Both manufacturers face a "key risk" in maintaining production of their wide-body jets beyond 2021 amid indications of a glutted market for long-range aircraft, Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned said in a report Tuesday.

Next year, Chicago-based Boeing will need to match its 2019 sales tally for the Dreamliner to avoid a steep cut in output from the record pace the company recently adopted as crisis engulfed the Max. The Dreamliner has about 50 unfilled production slots starting in 2022, Bernstein analyst Harned said in a report.

In boosting Dreamliner output to a monthly pace of 14 jets, Boeing executives predicted a wave of orders to replace aging twin-aisle aircraft starting in the early 2020s. But the replacement opportunities aren't sufficient to maintain production at that pace, Harned said.

Other factors could still support Dreamliner production, from the end of Airbus's A380 superjumbo jet to a potential trade deal that restarts Boeing's sales in China. Boeing could also offer discounts on the popular 787 to compensate Max customers for the disruption from the global flying ban.

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"We have heard this is a concern for Airbus as it seeks to sell A330neos versus the 787," Harned wrote.

Take a look at Boeing's interior concept designs for private 737 Max jet in the gallery above.

Bloomberg

See also: Singapore sends its 737 MAX jets to Australia's desert boneyard

See also: Pushed to the limit: Airline's plan for 15-hour flights with narrow-body Airbus

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