Boeing Books 303 Orders, Hits 737 MAX Target In May

Boeing is heading into the Paris Air Show on a high note after a blockbuster May, recording 303 new aircraft orders and rolling out 38 new 737 MAX jets—a monthly production target the company has been striving to achieve for over a year.

The Qatar deal was announced during President Donald Trump’s whirlwind Middle East tour. I Photo: Boeing

In addition, Boeing delivered 45 aircraft in May, the company announced Tuesday, according to Dan Catchpole's report for Reuters.

It was the sixth-highest monthly order total in Boeing’s history, according to internal data.

Among the headline deals was the largest widebody jet purchase in the company’s history: Qatar Airways ordered 130 787s and 30 777Xs, with options for an additional 50 long-haul aircraft.

However, only 120 787s were added to Boeing’s official order backlog, with no clarification from the company on the discrepancy.

The Qatar deal was announced during President Donald Trump’s whirlwind Middle East tour, which featured a series of major business agreements. A day earlier, Saudi Arabian-owned lessor AviLease ordered 20 737-8 MAX jets.

Another Gulf-based carrier, Etihad, said it plans to order 28 widebody Boeing jets, though it has yet to finalize the purchase, so those jets were not counted in May’s total.

Meanwhile, Canadian airline WestJet ordered seven 737 MAX jets but also canceled two earlier 737 orders.