Boeing‘s (NYSE:BA) top-selling jet has struggled mightily over the past two years. The aircraft manufacturing giant booked relatively few firm orders for the 737 MAX in 2019 and 2020 and lots of cancellations. This caused its order backlog to shrink dramatically.
So far, 2021 is shaping up to be a much better year for the 737 MAX, with order activity starting to resume. Still, the aircraft program has a long way to go to return to health.
A double-whammy for the 737 MAX
The grounding of the 737 MAX two years ago — following a pair of fatal accidents — discouraged airlines from placing new orders for the type. That caused the 737-family order backlog to fall from 4,708 units at the end of 2018 to 4,398 at the end of 2019.
Order activity might have recovered in 2020, due to high demand for narrow-body jets and long lead times at Airbus. But then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, decimating air travel demand. Rather than being desperate to line up deliveries of new jets, airlines suddenly had more planes than they could use.
As a result, Boeing booked just 112 firm orders for the 737 MAX last year. Meanwhile, it suffered a slew of order cancellations. By the end of 2020, Boeing’s 737 backlog had fallen to 3,282 units: down 30% from two years earlier.
Momentum is returning
The 737 MAX posted another month of negative net orders in January, causing the backlog to shrink again. However, there have been some signs of life since then.
In February, United Airlines added another 25 units to its 737 MAX order book. Boeing also recorded orders for 14 737 MAX jets from one or more unidentified customers. Even after factoring in order cancellations, Boeing closed the month with 12 net orders for the 737 family.
This week, Boeing announced that 777 Partners — an investment firm affiliated with several low-cost carriers — had ordered 24 737 MAX 8s, with purchase rights for 60 more. This deal is significant because…