Boeing Max orders fall as Air Lease swaps 737 for 787 jets

Bloomberg

Sales for Boeing Co’s grounded 737 Max slipped in October after a prominent customer converted some of its orders for the narrow-body jet to twin-aisle 787 Dreamliners.
Boeing’s unfilled 737 order backlog, adjusted for accounting considerations, shrank by 19 aircraft during the month to 4,387 jets, the Chicago-based planemaker revealed on its website. The planemaker garnered negative 93 orders for the Max, net of cancellations and conversions, through the first 10 months of the year.
In all, Boeing removed 21 airplanes from its books last month as it reconfigures its production schedule for the Max and offers deals on wide-body jets like its Dreamliner to airlines reeling from a global flying ban. Sales of the updated 737, the latest generation of a design dating to the mid-1960s, have dwindled since regulators halted flights in March following two fatal accidents that killed 346 people.

On the Taxiway
As it prepares to restart Max deliveries, possibly as soon as next month, Boeing is drawing up a delivery schedule with many moving pieces. Among the complications it faces: lower-than-expected output for the 737, uncertain demand following months of bruising publicity and possible lags by international regulators after the US government clears the plane to fly.
Instead of the previously planned 57-jet monthly output, Boeing will stay at its current 42-jet pace and gradually ramp up production of the Max to avoid stressing suppliers and overwhelming airlines at a time when they’re also taking the Max out of storage, Boeing Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith said at a Baird conference.
The planemaker provided a glimpse into some of the activity as customers affected by the upheaval shift orders and strike deals. Air Lease Corp, the largest publicly traded US aircraft financier, converted 15 of its Max orders to 5 of the carbon-composite Dreamliner, bolstering sales of the larger jet, Boeing spokesman Paul Bergman said by email.
Another unidentified customer removed three Max jets from its order book after buying three new 777 aircraft earlier in the year. Separately, an unidentified customer picked up future Max delivery positions from another buyer with no net order changes, Bergman said.
Boeing notched 20 deliveries in October, including 12 Dreamliners and one previous generation 737. Airbus SE, its European rival, delivered 77 jets last month. So far, Airbus has netted 542 orders this year to negative 95 for Boeing.

FAA chief plans reform of new plane reviews
Bloomberg

Aviation regulators around the world need to do a better job of assessing hazards in aircraft designs and understanding how pilots might be tripped up by complex technology in the wake of the fatal crashes on Boeing’s 737 Max, the chief of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, speaking before the Aero Club of Washington, said the agency is addressing concerns raised by several reviews of the crashes that killed 346 people after a safety system on the plane went haywire.
“Going forward beyond the Max, some key things are emerging regarding aircraft certification processes, not only in the US but around the world,” Dickson said.
Dickson identified three areas: moving to a “holistic rather than transactional, line-by-line item approach”; integrating so-called “human factors” issues in designs so pilots are less likely to be tripped up by complex technical systems; and ensuring a better flow of information within different arms of FAA.